Hoardings put up outside gurudwaras across Punjab by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) feature the photo of the damaged Akal Takht, the highest seat of Sikhism at Amritsar’s Sri Harmandir Sahib, better known as the Golden Temple.

The shrine was partially destroyed during a controversial military operation in June 1984 against Khalistani separatists by the Indira Gandhi government.

On October 31 that year, two Sikh guards of Indira Gandhi shot her dead, allegedly in retaliation for Operation Bluestar. The assassination was followed by a pogrom of Sikhs in many parts of the country, with several Congress leaders implicated in the violence.

The six-day anniversary commemoration of Bluestar by Sikh groups begins on June 1, which is polling day in the state. The hoardings remind voters that it was the "merciless Congress government" that was responsible for the "ghallughara" (genocide).

Daljeet Singh, a salwar suit seller at the Talhi Sahib Bazar near the temple, was born in 1992. His inherited memories of the dark days of 1984 have prevented him from voting for the Congress.

"My father had a shop in Raipur, which was burnt down in the (anti-Sikh) riots that year. I voted Akali and BJP until they made life hard for us with the GST and the demonetisation," he told The Telegraph.

"I support the AAP as its government (in Punjab) has brought us power subsidies, and is improving government hospitals."

Anniversaries of Bluestar usually witness a shutdown of economic activity in Amritsar but have remained a low-key affair. However, despite the painful history, army regiments continue to offer thanksgiving and commemorative plaques at the Golden Temple, which are installed on its premises.

This year, the SGPC inaugurated a "martyrs’ gallery" to commemorate those killed by the army in the operation. A model of the damaged Akal Takht, as it was after Bluestar, has been placed in front of the temple complex. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too has reminded voters in its rallies that the Congress was responsible for the incidents of 1984.

"The politics of Sikhs moves forward, not backwards. Raghunandan Lal Bhatia of the Congress won from Amritsar in the 1984 (general election). The Congress has formed three governments in Punjab and Delhi — where the worst of the riots happened — since 1984," a retired political science professor who taught at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, said.

"The SAD recognised that politics was changing and opened up to non-Sikhs in 1996. (AAP chief minister) Bhagwant Mann is the first non-baptised Sikh (he doesn’t adhere to norms like not cutting one’s hair) to become Punjab CM. The youth are largely non-parochial and their issues are employment and upward mobility," the professor added, saying the memories of 1984 would have no significant impact on these polls.

The BJP candidate, former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu, is the grandson of one of the SGPC’s founders, Teja Singh Samundri. A hall in the Golden Temple is named after Samundri — it’s the only one named after a person who was not a guru of Sikhism.

While serving as India’s ambassador to the US, Sandhu was heckled at a New York gurudwara after last year's murder of Khalistan activist Hardeep Nijjar in Canada, in which Ottawa had implicated Indian government agencies.

Sandhu’s campaign has focused on "Vikas" — the development of Amritsar, including a boost to foreign trade. Migration out of Amritsar for work has increased since trade with Pakistan was stopped following the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019.

However, posters saying "We will bring those who brought Ram" have appeared in the markets around the Golden Temple. These don’t bear the BJP symbol, nor have they been officially sanctioned by the party.

Outside a Sandhu rally near Amritsar Cantonment on May 30, a huddle of workers from nearby hotels concluded that Sandhu cannot resume trade with Pakistan that the BJP government had itself stopped.

The workers singled out Ranchi-native Pancham, settled in Amritsar for 23 years, as the one along them who understands politics the best.

"Amritsar always shuts down to mark the ghallughara," Pancham told this newspaper.

"It's a Congress versus AAP fight here. The ghallughara posters won’t affect the Congress as voters here have voted for them with the knowledge of what happened in 1984. People see where the country is going, and our votes are on national issues."

The sheen of the AAP government’s welfare schemes has faded somewhat in the face of a perceived deterioration of law enforcement in a city considered the safest in the region. Beyond the area around the temple, crimes like mugging have become more frequent.

The town of Ajnala, just north of Amritsar, has become a tourist spot after its police station was stormed last year by Khalistani group Waris Punjab De over a local dispute. Its leader Amritpal Singh is now contesting from jail in Assam. He is a candidate from Khadoor Sahib, Punjab.

"People come to take photos of the police station. Our lives were peaceful both before and after the incident. We don’t think much of 1984. There are more pressing problems today — those of farming, income and jobs,” taxi driver Satkar Singh said.

The town’s taxi stand, opposite the police station, is divided down the middle into AAP and Congress supporters. The debate here isn’t as much about which party is better, but about which party has a better chance of victory. It comes down to driver Gurmeet Singh to explain the trajectory of the opinion poll.

"I’ll tell you the truth. We are so confused that for the first time, I actually don’t know which button I will press," Gurmeet said.