Balbir Singh Rajewal (born 20 August 1943) is an Indian farm union leader and politician from Ludhiana, Punjab. He is founder of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) and the Chief Ministerial candidate of

Sanyukt Samaj Morcha Balbir Singh Rajewal (born 20 August 1943) is an Indian farm union leader and politician from Ludhiana, Ludhiana, Punjab. He is founder of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) and the Chief Ministerial candidate of Sanyukt Samaj Morcha party for the ...

party for the

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Elections in Punjab, India, Punjab on 2022 elections in India, 20 February 2022 to elect the List of constituencies of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, 117 members of the Sixteenth Punjab Legislative ...

. Rajewal is known for his active participation in 2020-2021 Indian farmers' protest.

Early life

Rajewal was born on 20 August 1943. He started his career as a telegraphist in the post and telegraph department but in 1968 he resigned from his job.

Farmer activist

In May 1972, Rajewal formed '' Punjab Khetibari Union'' with merger of 11 peasants groups in

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. When in 1978, PKU transformed into

Bharatiya Kisan Union Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) ( English: Indian Farmers' Union) is a farmer's representative organisation in India. It was founded by Chaudhary Charan Singh from the ''Punjab Khetibari Union'' (Punjab Farming Union) which became its Punjab branc ...

, he was appointed Secretary of the Union. He is also credited with writing the Constitution of BKU. He also worked with Mahendra Singh Tikait and Sharad Anantrao Joshi. In 2009, he went on hunger strike and demanded relief for farmers under drought funds and succeeded in getting relief to farmers.

2020 Farmers Protest

In 2020, Government of India passed three farm acts, along with other 31 Farmer Unions in Punjab, he started protest against these laws in Punjab and then at Singhu Border near Delhi at Haryana. He is also the member of

Samyukt Kisan Morcha Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (), formed in November 2020, is a coalition of over forty Indian farmers' unions to coordinate satyagragh (non-violent resistance) against the three farm acts initiated in September of the same year. The SKM in oppo ...

(SKM).

Politics

Rajewal has been close to various political parties in past, including

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

, and

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, ) is a List of political parties in India, political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then gover ...

, but didn't accept any official post. During 2020-2021 Farmers' protest, he was against any political participation. After the withdrawal of Farm laws by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in November 2021, the 22 Farm unions of Punjab broke away from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and announced intentions to participate in

. Balbir Singh Rajewal has announced to be Chief Minister face of the new party named as Sanyukt Samaj Morcha. SKM has distanced itself from the new party and said it is not associated with SSM. The new party is not allowed to use the SKM banners.

Sanyukt Samaj Morcha

In 2020, after the passing of three farm laws by the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

, large

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against them took place. Until the suspension of the protests, all 32 Punjab Farm Unions were against any political participation. After the Government announced the withdrawal of the three farm laws, 22 out 32 Punjab Farmer Unions announced their intention to participate in the

. Sanyukt Samaj Morcha a new political party was founded. Balbir Singh Rajewal was selected as Chief Minister candidate.

has distanced itself from the new party and said it is not associated with SSM. The new party is not allowed to use the SKM banners. The Election Commission of India registered the Morcha on 2 February 2022.

2022 Punjab election

Sanyukt Samaj Morcha announced an alliance with the

Sanyukt Sangharsh Party Gurnam Singh Charuni (also spelt Gurnam Singh Chaduni; born 1959) is a farm union leader and politician in the Indian states of Haryana and Punjab. He is the chief of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) in Haryana, and the founder of Sanyukt Sangha ...

for the 2022 Punjab elections. The

Nawan Punjab Party Dharamvir Gandhi (born 1 June 1951) is an Indian politician and a member of Indian National Congress. In 2024 Indian general election he was elected from Patiala Lok Sabha constituency defeating the incumbent MP Preneet Kaur. He was earlier a m ...

’s President

Dharamvir Gandhi Dharamvir Gandhi (born 1 June 1951) is an Indian politician and a member of Indian National Congress. In 2024 Indian general election he was elected from Patiala Lok Sabha constituency defeating the incumbent MP Preneet Kaur. He was earlier a m ...

extended his support to Morcha. The

Marxist Communist Party of India (United) Marxist Communist Party of India (United) is a communist party in India, formed in 2005 by the unification of the Marxist Communist Party of India, the Mangat Ram Pasla-led breakaway group from the CPI(M) in Punjab – Communist Party Marxis ...

also extended their support to Morcha. On 16 January 2022, the

Aapna Punjab Party Sucha Singh Chhotepur is an Indian politician and vice-president of Shiromani Akali Dal. He was born in Punjab. He was former state convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for Punjab. He is the former state Minister of Tourism and a former indepen ...

merged with Sanyukt Samaj Morcha. The Bhartiya Aarthik Party also later joined Sanyukt Samaj Morcha as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajewal, Balbir Singh Living people 1943 births Punjab, India politicians 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian politicians Leaders of 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest