"Today For Punjabis It Is A Very Sad Day"; SAD Leader Bikram Singh Majithia

Shiromani Akali Da (SAD) leader Bikram S Majithia recently spoke with ANI, talking about how significant today's date is for the people of Punjab, and how he predicts the election result will be in the state.

In his talk, he says, "Today for Punjabis it is a very sad day. Today marks the day when Operation Blue Star took place in the holiest place for Sikhs, the Golden Temple. More than 1000 people were martyred on the martyrdom day of Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji. The public is voting very thoughtfully. The Central government has done nothing for the poor, farmers, and youth. Loans worth lakhs and crores were waived off of big industrialists and businessmen but they forgot farmers. People will vote in large numbers for the regional party."

Today, 1 June, marks the 40th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, where numerous members of the Indian Armed Forces raided the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib in order to remove Khalistani militant, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Bhindranwale died during this operation, alongside many other militants, civilians, and people from the police force. The operation is said to be the catalyst for many notable events in India's history, such as the assassination of Indira Gandhi on 31 October, 1984.

SAD was initially part of the National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, but split off from then in late 2020. This was due to the pushing of the three farm bills by the central government. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal called the bills "lethal and disastrous" for its key voter base of farmers, as reported by NDTV in 2020.

President Badal also spoke briefly with ANI right after casting his vote, stating "Today the contest is between national parties and the party of the people of Punjab. So, the party of the people is winning. I appeal to the people to come out and vote."