Sarabjit Singh, the son of one of the assassins of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has announced his candidacy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Faridkot, Punjab.
The 45-year-old Singh stated that he was encouraged by many residents of Faridkot to contest as an independent candidate in the upcoming polls.
Singh’s father, Beant Singh, was involved in the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 along with Satwant Singh. Beant was killed immediately by security guards, while Satwant was later sentenced to death and executed.
Sarabjit, a resident of Mohali, did not complete his graduation despite enrolling in Chandigarh’s Khalsa College. He previously contested in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Bathinda but was unsuccessful, receiving 1.13 lakh votes. Similarly, in the 2007 Punjab assembly polls from Barnala’s Bhadaur seat, he only managed to garner 15,702 votes.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Sarabjit contested from Fatehgarh Sahib but was unsuccessful. His declared assets at that time were worth ₹3.5 crore. He also contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections representing the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but was unsuccessful.
Sarabjit’s mother, Bimal Kaur, was elected as an MP from the Ropar seat in 1989, and his grandfather won from Bathinda in the same year.
The Lok Sabha elections in Punjab are scheduled for June 1, with counting on June 4. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has nominated actor Karamjit Anmol as their candidate for the Faridkot seat, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fielding singer Hans Raj Hans. Currently, the seat is held by Congress MP Mohammad Sadique.