Punjab: Major setback to Congress as Ravneet Bittu joins BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections

PTC Web Desk: In a major setback to the Congress in Punjab ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Ravneet Bittu joined the BJP on Tuesday. He is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Ravneet Singh Bittu, while citing the reasons behind his decision to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, "Over the past 10 years, I have had deep relations with Prime Minister Modi ji. I express gratitude to PM Modi Ji, Amit Shah ji, and JP Nadda ji. I come from a martyr's family. My grandfather, Beant Singh, was a Chief Minister. I have witnessed the dark times in Punjab and how they were rectified. PM Modi wants to do a lot for Punjab. While other states have progressed significantly, there is still a gap in Punjab where bridges need to be built."

"We will connect Punjab with the Centre," Bittu added. "It is necessary to bring together the farmers, labourers, and industries of Punjab. People know that the government has been in power for 10 years and will continue to be in the future, so why should we lag behind? Why should Punjab lag behind? We will connect the people of Punjab with the BJP and PM Modi ji," he said.

Ravneet Singh Bittu, who is Congress MP from Punjab's Ludhiana, has joined the BJP just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Ravneet Singh Bittu represented the Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab from 2009 to 2014.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Ravneet Bittu defeated SAD's Dr Daljit Singh Cheema with a margin of 67,204 votes. Earlier, Ravneet Singh Bittu had served as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha from March to July 2021.

Bittu was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ludhiana in 2014, 2019 Assembly elections and earlier from Anandpur Sahib in 2009.  In January 2021, he was allegedly assaulted at the Singhu border during a 'Jan Sansad' programme.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Ravneet Bittu had defeated Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Harvinder Singh Phoolka with a margin of 19,709 votes. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Bittu defeated Lok Insaaf Party's (LIP) Simarjeet Singh Bains with a margin of 76,372 votes.

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