Twenty two farm unions which protested against the three agriculture laws, announced on Saturday that they have formed a political front to contest the Punjab Assembly elections, reported PTI.

The party named Samyukta Samaj Morcha will contest all 117 seats in the state Assembly.

“SKM [Samyukta Kisan Morcha] was an umbrella body of different groups...we won the agitation [against the farm laws],” said Harmeet Singh Kadian, the leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kadian) faction, according to NDTV. “But, when we returned, there was pressure not only from cadre but Punjabis...that if we could win that battle, we can win the election as well...”

After over a year of protests by farmers against the three agriculture laws, they were repealed on December 1.

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During the party’s launch on Saturday, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told ANI that there was a need to change the system. He appealed to the public to support the political front of the farmers.

On December 18, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni had launched his political party named Sanyukt Sangharsh Party. During the launch, he had said that politics had become polluted and there was a need for change, reported The Times of India.

“Policymakers promoting capitalism, policies are being framed to favour capitalists,” Charuni said. “Nothing is done for common man, the poor. Our objective will be to purify politcs and bring good people forward.”

These farmers were part of the 32 farm unions who protested against the three agriculture laws.

Thousands of farmers had built tent cities at Delhi’s border points since November 2020, demanding that the Centre repeal the three laws that proposed to open up the country’s agriculture markets to private companies. The farmers feared that the policies would make them vulnerable to corporate exploitation and would dismantle the minimum support price regime.

The farmers vacated the protest sites after the farms laws were formally repealed.