Farmer unions protesting against the Centre’s agriculture laws on Friday urged various political parties in Punjab to suspend their election campaigns till the schedule for Assembly polls in the state are announced, PTI reported. The elections are due early next year.

The farmer unions asked political parties not to campaign so that the focus of the people is not deflected from the protests against the legislations.

On Friday morning, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions, met representatives of the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Lok Insaaf Party and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) in Chandigarh. The farmer bodies did not invite the Bharatiya Janata Party for the meeting.

Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, who was present at the meeting, told ANI that the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal have assured to discuss the matter with their leadership.

“Parties which will insist on running an election campaign before poll dates are announced, we will consider them as against the farmers’ agitation,” Rajewal told reporters, according to PTI. Rajewal said the parties who attended Friday’s meeting had also supported their agitation against the farm laws.

The farmer bodies also urged the political parties to make their election manifesto a legal document and declare a time period to fulfill the promises made by them, Rajewal said.

Congress Punjab unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu tweeted, “Had a positive meeting with Samyukt Kisan Morcha...Discussed the way forward !!”

Even as Rajewal said that the Shiromani Akali Dal had agreed to discuss their demands with its leadership, the party’s representatives in the meeting gave conflicting statements to the reporters. They said that the Akali Dal has requested the farmer bodies not to impose restrictions on political activities in Punjab and maintain the national character of the agitation, PTI reported.

Farmers have been protesting against the Centre’s three contentious agriculture laws since November.

The government has claimed the laws are aimed at making farming more profitable, but the farmers argue that they will bring about corporate dominance of the sector. However, farmers claim that once the prevailing authority of the state marketing boards – that provide a shield against exploitation – collapses, private entities will dictate the price of their produce.

They fear that the government plans to dismantle the minimum support price regime under the guise of reforming the agricultural sector.

Last week, at a mahapanchayat (congregation) in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, farmers resolved to mobilise against the BJP ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections in the state.

The farmer bodies had also campaigned against the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections in four states and a Union Territory earlier this year.