Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday formally launched his new political outfit, Aawaaz-e-Punjab, in Chandigarh, calling it "the resurrection and the revival" of the state. The former Bharatiya Janata Party MP said his party wanted to "shake the system that had ruined the state" , and added that "those with vested interests cannot accomplish this".

Sidhu had formed the party last week, along with Pargat Singh, a former hockey player, and independent MLAs Balwinder Singh Bains and Simarjit Singh Bains. An Aawaaz-e-Punjab poster said the front will "raise its voice against those who have destroyed Punjab". The party's launch comes five months before the Assembly elections in Punjab.

After Sidhu had resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP on July 18, there was speculation that he would leave the BJP and join the Aam Aadmi Party instead. The 53-year-old had said he had stepped down as he had been asked to stay away from Punjab.