Gurugram: Balraj Kundu will unveil his newly formed party’s strategy for next year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections at a rally in Jind on November 1 (Haryana Day), hours after the independent MLA from Meham floated a new organization ‘Haryana Jansevak Party’. Later, ThePrint was informed about this at a function at Hotel Mountview, Chandigarh on Wednesday.
He said his new party wanted to provide an alternative to the politics of the ruling BJP-JJP alliance and the opposition Congress – which, according to him, has led to a system of policy-making that does not take into account the concerns of average citizens.
“It is because of the wrong policies of the governments ruling the state so far that our youth are falling prey to drugs and the crime rate has increased,” he told ThePrint.
MLA Balraj Kundu launched “Haryana Jansevak Party”. Will reveal his strategy in the Jind rally on November 1.
Our alliance will not be with JJP, BJP or Congress: Kundu
He said that unemployment, plight of farmers, inflation, corruption and scams are at their peak in Haryana.
Unemployed youth of the state… pic.twitter.com/yVy6Vcjiqp
— Balraj Kundu (@balrajkundu1) September 6, 2023
Kundu said the state government’s ‘misguided’ policies have affected farmers the most, “but there is no one to listen to them”.
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“They (farmers) have to pay premium under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), but when it comes to settling their claims, insurance companies drag their feet,” he said.
Taking a dig at the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana, Kundu said all sections of the society are fed up with the current government, alleging that “nothing remarkable has been done in the last nine years”. Crime in the state has increased manifold over the years, he said, adding that the state government’s debt in Haryana has increased “five times, inflation four times and unemployment three times” in the last decade.
Also read: ‘Poverty of Haryana, youth leaving India’, BJP’s Birendra Singh plans ‘Meri Awaaz Suno’ rally
Who is Balraj Kundu
A businessman, Balraj Kundu joined the Haryana BJP between 2014 and 2019 before venturing into politics. During this, his ‘philanthropy’ works raised him to prominence in the Meham assembly constituency of Rohtak district. He had hoped that the BJP would field him from Meham in the 2019 assembly elections, but when he was denied the ticket, Kundu jumped into the fray as an independent — his election symbol being a helicopter.
He won the seat by defeating Anand Singh Dangi of Congress and Shamsher Kharkada of BJP.
In his affidavit filed before the Election Commission for the 2019 assembly elections, Kundu had disclosed an annual income of Rs 7.71 crore in 2018-19, apart from assets worth Rs 141 crore.
Since winning the seat in 2019, Kundu has remained at an equal distance from both Congress and BJP.
“Ever since I was elected to the state assembly from Meham, I have been serving the people using my own money,” he told ThePrint. I am running 18 buses from my own pocket to take girls to colleges and universities in Meham and Rohtak so that they can get education without any hassle. A free ambulance service is being run in Meham and I have donated money for gyms in all the villages of my constituency so that the youth of the village do not turn to bad habits.”
Kundu’s family owns a stake in KCC Buildcon Private Limited, a highway construction company with its office in Gurugram. According to its website, the firm has undertaken several projects under the Centre’s Bharatmala Project Network. These include development of a section of Delhi-Vadodara Greenfield Alignment (NH-148N), Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway, a multi-lane carriageway on NH-44 in Maharashtra and six-laning of NH-8 in Gujarat.
Asked about his family’s business interests, Kundu told ThePrint, “I am not directly associated with this company. My brother Shivraj Kundu is its managing director while other members of my family are also associated with this business.”
(Editing: Falguni Sharma)
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Also read: Internal strife started again in Haryana Congress, Hooda’s critics reached Kharge.