Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni floats party ahead of Punjab polls

Chaduni, who leads the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) in Haryana, gained prominence by helping farm unions protesting against three now-scrapped central laws to mobilize and reach the Capital.

Senior farm leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni launched a new political party on Saturday and said his outfit was aimed at battling corruption and will contest all seats in the upcoming Punjab elections.

Bharatiya Kisan Union Haryana president Gurnam Singh Charuni interacts with media during the launch of Sanyukt Sangharsh Party in Chandigarh on Saturday. (Ravi Kumar/HT photo)

Chaduni, who leads the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) in Haryana, gained prominence by helping farm unions protesting against three now-scrapped central laws to mobilize and reach the Capital. He is a member of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a platform of 40 farm unions that led the yearlong stir against the three laws. The laws were repealed in November.

Chaduni called his outfit the “Sanyukt Sangharsh Party” and said he will not contest the polsl from Punjab. “Our objective will be to purify politics and bring good people forward,” said the leader.

The announcement came on a day the SKM was holding a meeting to strategise for the upcoming elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, where agriculture issues are expected to have an impact on the polls.

Earlier in the day in Chandigarh, Chaduni said there was no decision on alliances and stressed on bringing changes in the farming sector for more employment.

“Every political party is here to make money. They have made it a business and polluted it. The politicians are responsible for the capitalism, poverty and inequality in the country,” he said. “Hence we are launching our party today, which will be free of casteism and won’t bend towards any particular religion,” he added.

He also backed opium farming in Punjab. “If opium farming is allowed, Punjab can progress a lot,” he said. “The purpose of the party will be to bring equality, making the state drugs free, making education and health facilities free for all,” he said.

Jaspal Singh Joramajra, who was introduced as head of the party in Punjab, said they thought of forming a new party after seeing ‘atrocities” during the farmers’ protest.

“Punjab has always taken a lead whenever there is a revolution; hence we are starting from Punjab,” he said.