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Sukhpal Singh Khaira

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Sukhpal Singh Khaira
Leader of the Opposition
Punjab Legislative Assembly
In office
20 July 2017[1] – 26 July 2018[2]
Preceded byH. S. Phoolka[1]
Succeeded byHarpal Singh Cheema[3]
ConstituencyBholath, Kapurthala district
Member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly
for Bholath
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 March 2022
Preceded byHimself
In office
24 March 2017 – 3 June 2021
Preceded byBibi Jagir Kaur
In office
1 March 2007 – 6 March 2012
Preceded byBibi Jagir Kaur
Succeeded byVacant
Personal details
Born (1965-01-13) 13 January 1965 (age 61)
Kapurthala, Punjab, India
PartyINC (Until 2015; 2021-)
Other political
affiliations
PEP (2019-21)
AAP (2015-18)

Sukhpal Singh Khaira (born 13 January 1965) is an Indian politician serving a third term as Indian National Congress MLA from Bholath constituency. He was the leader of opposition in Punjab Legislative Assembly during July 2017 to July 2018. He is the chairman of All India Kisan Congress since July 2022.

He started his political career with Youth Congress. In 1997, He became the vice-president of Punjab Youth Congress. He got political legacy from his father Sukhjinder Singh Khaira, a stalwart Shiromani Akali Dal leader. He is the national chairman of Kisan and Khet Mazdoor Congress.

Personal life

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Khaira was born on 13 January 1965. His native village is Ramgarh in the Bholath assembly segment.[4] He is the son of Sukhjinder Singh Khaira, a veteran Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab education minister, who died in July 2010.[5][6] He was educated at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla.[citation needed]

Khaira lives in Sector 5, Chandigarh.[7] His son, Mehtab Singh Khaira, is an advocate.[7]

Political career

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Early career

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Khaira began his political career in 1994, when he was elected a member of the gram panchayat of his native village, Ramgarh, in Kapurthala district.[8] He joined the Youth Congress and was appointed vice-president of the Punjab Youth Congress in 1997.[8] In 1999 the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee appointed him its secretary,[8] and from 2005 to 2010 he was president of the Kapurthala District Congress Committee.[8] In 2006 he was elected a director of the Kapurthala Central Cooperative Bank.[8]

Indian National Congress (2007–2015)

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After unsuccessful attempts in 1997 and 2002, Khaira was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly from Bholath as a Congress candidate in 2007, and served until 2012.[9] He was appointed a spokesperson of the Punjab Congress in 2009 and reappointed in 2013.[10] In May 2014 he resigned the post, taking moral responsibility for the party's poor performance in Punjab in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.[11] In December 2015 he left the Congress and joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).[12]

Aam Aadmi Party and Leader of the Opposition (2015–2019)

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Khaira won Bholath for AAP in the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election.[13] On 20 July 2017 he was named Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.[1] AAP removed him from the post in July 2018 after disagreements with the party leadership, and suspended him from the party in November 2018 for "anti-party activities".[14] In December 2018 he announced the Punjab Democratic Alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Bains brothers and Dharamvir Gandhi.[15] He resigned from AAP on 6 January 2019, saying the party had deviated from its founding ideology,[14] and two days later launched the Punjab Ekta Party.[16]

Punjab Ekta Party (2019–2021)

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Khaira contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Bathinda as the Punjab Democratic Alliance candidate,[17] finishing fourth with 25,377 votes; the seat was won by Harsimrat Kaur Badal.[18][19] He submitted his resignation as an MLA in April 2019,[20] but withdrew it in October 2019, saying he would instead contest AAP's attempt to have him disqualified.[21]

Return to Congress (2021–present)

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On 3 June 2021 Khaira rejoined the Congress along with two other rebel AAP MLAs,[22] and on 17 June the Punjab Ekta Party formally merged with the Congress.[23] His resignation from the assembly was accepted in October 2021, ending AAP's disqualification proceedings against him.[24]

In the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election he won Bholath for a third time as the Congress candidate, defeating Bibi Jagir Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal.[25][26][27] In July 2022 he was appointed chairman of the All India Kisan Congress.[28][29] In the 2024 Lok Sabha election he contested Sangrur and lost to Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer of AAP by 172,560 votes.[30]

Assets and liabilities declared during 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election

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During the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, he declared ₹50,32,93,187 as an overall financial asset and ₹2,87,27,277 as financial liability.[31]

Controversies

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Khaira admitted to meeting Arvind Kejriwal in early 2015.[32] According to media the meeting was in pretext to join AAP Punjab, but prominent leaders of AAP Punjab blocked the entry of Khaira into the Party.[33][34] In 2018, he was removed as the Leader of Opposition of the Punjab assembly, because of his problems with the party.[35]

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Relations with drug smugglers

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Allegations were made on Khaira that he was trying to protect trans-border Heroin smuggler Gurdev Singh, he rubbished the allegations and invited the enquiry.[36] However, in April 2018, Justice Mehtab Singh Gill Panel, constituted by Govt., declared that all 17 cases against Sukhpal Singh Khaira were falsely registered and demanded action against police officers.[37]

Money laundering and ED arrest (2021)

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Khaira was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November 2021 in connection with a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The case stemmed from a larger 2015 drug smuggling investigation involving heroin, gold, arms, and fake passports. The ED alleged Khaira had links with suspects in that case.[38][39] A Mohali court later formally framed PMLA charges against him.[40]

While granted bail by the High Court in early Jan 2024, he was immediately re-arrested within hours in a fresh case of criminal intimidation and witness tampering related to the same NDPS matter.[41]

Allegations of accepting cash from party workers

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In 2018, internal party criticism surfaced when Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar demanded Khaira's resignation as Leader of the Opposition amid allegations of financial impropriety, specifically, claims by AAP colleagues that Khaira accepted cash from party workers.[42]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 PTI (20 July 2017). "AAP's Sukhpal Khaira new leader of opposition in Pb Assembly". Business Standard India. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Tikku, Aloke (26 July 2018). "AAP In Turmoil In Punjab, Top Leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira Sacked". NDTV. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "AAP removes Khaira, appoints Harpal Cheema as leader of opposition". Tribune. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Congress MLA to hold rally at native village tomorrow". The Tribune. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  5. ↑ "Former Punjab Minister dead". The Hindu. 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Former Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh passes away". news.webindia123.com. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Punjab Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira arrested from his house in Chandigarh". The Tribune. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Political career". NRI Internet. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Sukhpal Singh Khaira, MLA Bholath at Los Angeles". www.nriinternet.com. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Sukhpal Khaira becomes Punjab Cong spokesman". Zee News. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  11. ↑ PTI (18 May 2014). "Punjab Congress spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira resigns". DNA India. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  12. ↑ Vasdev, Kanchan (25 December 2015). "Now, Punjab Congress spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira likely to join AAP". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Cong regains lost ground in Bholath, Banga". The Tribune. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  14. 1 2 "AAP's Sukhpal Khaira Quits Party, Blames "Deviation of Ideology"". The Quint. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "Sukhpal Khaira announces Punjab Democratic Alliance with BSP, Bains brothers, Dr Gandhi". The Indian Express. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  16. ↑ PTI (8 January 2019). "Days After Quitting AAP, Sukhpal Singh Khaira Floats New Political Outfit". News18. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  17. ↑ "Sukhpal Khaira to contest parliamentary polls from Bathinda constituency". Tribune. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "Bathinda Lok Sabha Elections Result 2019: Winning Political Party, Candidate, Vote Share". Zee News. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "Bathinda Lok Sabha Election Result 2019: SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal defeats Congress candidate Amarinder Raka". DNA India. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  20. ↑ "Sukhpal Khaira resigns as Bholath MLA". Tribune. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Khaira withdraws his resignation as MLA, ready to fight it out with AAP". The Tribune. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  22. ↑ "Bholath legislator Sukhpal Khaira, 2 rebel AAP MLAs join Congress". Deccan Herald. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  23. ↑ "Punjab Ekta Party merges with Congress, Khaira and 2 other MLAs meet Rahul Gandhi". Deccan Herald. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  24. ↑ "Punjab: Khaira's resignation as MLA accepted, Bholath seat falls vacant". Deccan Herald. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  25. ↑ "PunjabElections 2022 vote counting LIVE Updates: For Bholath Constituency". ABP. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  26. ↑ "Election Commission of India constituency wise result board". eci.gov.in. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "Bholath: Even if I hadn't been freed, I would have emerged victorious, says Sukhpal Khaira". The Tribune. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  28. ↑ "Sukhpal Khaira appointed as Chairman of All India Kisan Congress". www.babushahi.com. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  29. ↑ "Congress Rejects Committee On MSP, Terms It As 'Farcical Attempt'". ABP News. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  30. ↑ "General Election to Parliamentary Constituencies: Trends & Results June-2024 Parliamentary Constituency 12 - Sangrur (Punjab)". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  31. ↑ "Sukhpal Singh Khaira(Indian National Congress(INC)):Constituency- BHOLATH(KAPURTHALA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". www.myneta.info. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  32. ↑ Sehgal, Manjeet (4 June 2021). "Joining AAP a political blunder, Arvind Kejriwal a dictator: Sukhpal Singh Khaira". India Today. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "Bhagwant Mann, Dr. Gandhi, Sadhu Singh to block entry of Sukhpal Khaira in Aam Aadmi Party". sikhsiyasat.net. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  34. ↑ "Sukhpal Singh Khaira to join AAP soon, says Sucha Singh Chhotepur". Hindustan Times. 28 February 201. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  35. ↑ Sethi, Chitleen K (26 July 2018). "One outburst too many, Punjab AAP replaces Sukhpal Singh Khaira as leader of opposition". The Print. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  36. ↑ "No link with arrested drug smuggler: Khaira". Tribune. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  37. ↑ "Cases against Simranjit Mann, Khaira false, says probe panel". Tribune. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  38. ↑ "Money-laundering case: ED arrests former Punjab MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira". The Hindu. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  39. ↑ "ED arrests former Punjab MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in money laundering case". The Times of India. PTI. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  40. ↑ Victor, Hillary (28 October 2023). "Mohali court frames charges against Sukhpal Khaira under PMLA". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  41. ↑ Verma, Sanjeev (4 January 2024). "Hours after bail from HC in drugs case, Congress MLA Khaira arrested in fresh case". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  42. ↑ "Sunil Jakhar Demands Khaira's Resignation As Lop Over Corruption Charges". 5 Dariya News. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
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