All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936 elected Swami Sahajananda Saraswati as its first President and it involved prominent leaders such as N. G. Ranga and E.M.S. Namboodiripad. The Kisan Manifesto, which was released in August 1936, demanded abolition of the zamindari system and cancellation of rural debts. In October 1937, the AIKS adopted the red flag as its banner. He organised the Bakasht Movement in Bihar in 1937−1938. "Bakasht" means self-cultivated. The movement was against the eviction of tenants from Bakasht lands by zamindars and led to the passing of the Bihar Tenancy Act and the Bakasht Land Tax. He also led the successful struggle in the Dalmia Sugar Mill at Bihta, where peasant-worker unity was the most important characteristic.