Son of Indira Gandhi's assassin joins Punjab election race
What's the story
The son of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassin, Beant Singh, has announced his candidacy for the Punjab parliamentary elections. Sarabjit Singh Khalsa will be running as an independent candidate from the Faridkot (reserved) constituency. A Class XII dropout, the 45-year-old is no stranger to politics, with previous unsuccessful attempts at securing a seat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Past campaigns
Khalsa's previous political endeavors and family background
Khalsa previously contested in the Lok Sabha polls from the Fatehgarh Sahib (Reserved) and Bathinda constituencies in 2014 and 2009, respectively, without success. In 2019, he was the chosen candidate for the Bahujan Samaj Party. His mother Bimal Kaur and grandfather Sucha Singh also both served as MPs from Ropar and Bathinda, respectively, in 1989.
Family politics
Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984
His father, Singh, along with Satwant Singh, both former bodyguards of then-Prime Minister Gandhi, were responsible for her assassination on October 31, 1984. Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984, at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star by the Indian Army between June 1 and 8, 1984.
Punjab elections
Punjab election schedule
Polling in Punjab will take place in a single phase on June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4. Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha seats, four of which are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates and the remaining nine unreserved. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won eight seats, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won four. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won one seat.