Businessmen come together to float new party in Punjab, name Chaduni CM candidate

An industrialists' body has launched a new political party and named Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni as the outfit's chief ministerial face for the 2022 Punjab assembly elections.

Ludhiana: An industrialists' body here has launched a new political party and named Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni as the outfit's chief ministerial face for the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. The new party -- Bharatiya Aarthik Party -- claims to represent farmers, traders and labourers. Representatives of various trade organisations met under the chairmanship of Chaduni, a farmer leader from Haryana on Monday and launched the party. Tarun Bawa, who heads a traders' association, was declared the founder national president of the newly formed outfit.

Chaduni was named as the chief ministerial face of the party for the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. Chaduni, who has not joined the new party, was present on the stage when the announcement was made that he would be the CM face for the party. Last month, Chaduni had batted for 'Mission Punjab' and said the outfits from Punjab involved in the agitation against the Central agriculture laws should contest the Punjab Assembly elections as it will "present a model on how the system can be changed".

Addressing the gathering here, Chaduni said that the new party would work for the success of his Mission Punjab 2022. He said, "We have decided to contest all the 117 seats in Punjab in the 2022 assembly elections ". He claimed that farmers, traders and labourers had faced a constant neglect both at the hands of the Congress and the BJP.

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Chaduni expressed hope that the new party would work for the benefit of these neglected sections of the society . No political party has so far declared or given any assurance to the farmers on the issue of MSP demanded by them, he added. The new outfit, he claimed, will win a majority in the house and frame laws in the interests of farmers, traders and labourers on their own strength. Chaduni had on Saturday decided to stay away from all meetings of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) after accusing some leaders of the joint front spearheading the stir against the farm laws of discriminating against him and his supporters.

Chaduni, had however, said that he will abide by the SKM's decisions as he does not want the ongoing farmers' agitation to be weakened in any way. He had alleged that some of his supporters were pushed out of an SKM meeting and mistreated.

The SKM had last month suspended Chaduni, a key member of the outfit, for seven days for suggesting that Punjab farmer outfits involved in the stir against the Centre's farm laws should contest the Assembly polls next year.

PTI