Yes sir, Karm Bains, always in the middle of something. He just happened to be near the scene of a campaign brawl in 2010 and again in 2020 another brawl related to the signs of his opponent being shredded.

A look at the Yuba Appeal Democrat has some fun historical tidbits

The treasurer of the Tierra Buena Sikh Temple and another Yuba City man were arrested Friday in connection with a curbside campaign altercation on election night.

Sukhdev Singh Mundi, 58, of the 1500 block of Berkshire Drive, Yuba City, was arrested by Sutter County Sheriff’s Department at 4:25 p.m. in the department lobby on suspicion of threatening crime or great bodily injury. He was booked into Sutter County Jail, where he was held without bail.

Navjot Singh Thiara, 23, of the 1400 block of Countryside Drive, Yuba City, was arrested by Sutter County Sheriff’s Department at 4:58 p.m. at his residence on suspicion of exhibiting a deadly weapon. He was booked into Sutter County Jail and released on $2,500 bail. He was given a Nov. 29 arraignment date.

The department also is interested in speaking with Yuba City resident Joga Thiara, 56, in relation to the incident, said Sgt. Merle Weber.

Deputies were dispatched to Camino Del Flores and Walton Avenue at about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday for an election-related disturbance where weapons were involved, spokeswoman Brenda Baker said last week.

Karm Bains told deputies he was standing on the corner with family, including children as young as 10 years old, to promote his cousin and Yuba City Mayor Kash Gill, when someone in a red vehicle continued to drive by swearing and making obscene gestures.

The car finally pulled up and people got out with baseball bats and hockey sticks, and they physically and verbally threatened Bains and his family, he said.

Those in the vehicle told deputies Bains and his friends were the ones making the threats and remarks, Baker said.

The altercation occurred in the wake of an attack ad mailer and robocalls targeting Gill just days before Tuesday’s election.

On Friday, Gill and Councilman Tej Maan called for peace and asked that there be no fighting as the East Indian community gathers to celebrate one of the annual Sikh Parade this weekend.

So in 2010, Karm Bains was helping Kash Gill who was defeated by Tej Maan for Yuba City, City Council. Your intrepid blogger did some digging and discovered that a Sacramento Businessman financed some hit pieces against Kash Gill that swung the election to Tej Maan.

I’d lay odds that Karm Bains is still holding a grudge as it appears he nearly came to blows in the 2010 campaign.

“It upsets me immensely that I would be tied to something like this,” Maan said. “My name is all I have.” He and Kash Gill were elected to the council in 2006. Gill was sworn in as Yuba City’s first East Indian mayor in 2009, following a rotation based on election vote totals.

The mailer and ensuing rumors have increased tension within factions of the East Indian community, and is just one example of issues within the Tierra Buena Sikh Temple, Maan said. Kash Gill’s family is connected to the temple’s previous leadership, and Maan is part of the newer organization.

“One group turns against Kash and the other group turns against me, so the Indian vote is split,” Maan said. “The City Council race is just one look at the game of what is being played at the temple. We are just pawns.” But the mailer and robocall have created such hostility within the factions that Maan worries it could result in violence.

Karm Bains, a local farmer and member of Yuba City’s Economic Development Commission, said he was sick to his stomach from the attack campaign. Also a Kash Gill supporter, Bains said he is not satisfied by the documents linking Bob Gill to Concerned Citizens for a Strong Yuba City.

“Why would they want to influence an election in Yuba City?” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.” Both he and Kash Gill asked around in the East Indian community and no one has heard of Bhupinder or Bob Gill. Bains finds it a little suspicious.

“That’s like me saying ‘Tom Smith did it,’ but good luck finding him,” Bains said.

Five years later in typical FPPC fashion, the complaint against Tej Maan was dismissed for lack of evidence he did anything wrong. (Bureaucrat speak for no case)

I’ve learned in politics, grudges last forever sometimes and it is clear that the troubled Karm Bains has some decade old issues with Tej Maan (his opponent).

To be continued…