On Tuesday (26th March), Congress’ Lok Sabha MP from Ludhiana and grandson of ex-Punjab CM Beant Singh, Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Ravneet Bittu, the former Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha during 2021, gave a major jolt to the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“I am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I can say with confidence that PM Modi and the Union Home Minister share a lot of love for Punjab and they wish to do a lot for the state…Why should Punjab be left behind?” Bittu said after joining the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Vinod Tawde at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
#WATCH | Delhi | Congress Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joins the BJP. pic.twitter.com/RcLPyPJ4i0
— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2024
Notably, Ravneet Singh Bittu represented the Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab from 2009 to 2014. During the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Bittu defeated Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Dr Daljit Singh Cheema by 67,204 votes.
Ravneet Singh Bittu was the Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha from March to July 2021. Bittu was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ludhiana in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Bittu won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by a margin of 19,709 votes over Harvinder Singh Phoolka of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Manpreet Singh Ayali, a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate, finished third in the constituency. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Ravneet Bittu defeated Simarjeet Singh Bains of the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) by 76,372. Maheshinder Singh Grewal, a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate, finished third in the poll.
Earlier, in an interview with India Today, Ravneet Singh Bittu, infighting caused the Congress to lose the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. “I am 100 per cent sure of this.” He also criticised the party’s affiliation with the AAP, saying that party workers in Punjab requested the leaders not to contest the elections together. “AAP has said many things and has misused agencies and police against Congress,” Ravneet Bittu added.
Ravneet Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab CM Beant Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995. Beant Singh was assassinated outside Punjab Secretariat in 1995 by Khalistani terrorists.
