Jolt to Cong as Ludhiana MP Bittu switches to BJP
In a setback to the Congress in Punjab, three-time member of Parliament (MP) and grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh joined the BJP
Chandigarh : In a setback to the Congress in Punjab, three-time member of Parliament (MP) and grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh joined the BJP.
Bittu is the third high-profile Punjab Congress leader who has switched loyalties in less than three weeks. Earlier, former MLA Gurpreet Singh GP and sitting legislator Raj Kumar Chabbewal joined the AAP.
The two-time MP from Ludhiana, Bittu, 49, who had once represented the Anandpur Sahib constituency in the lower house, joined the BJP at the party headquarters in the national capital.
Bittu was one of the four young Congress leaders who were handpicked by Rahul Gandhi in 2014 as a part of his plan to bring about a generational shift in the grand old party.
Since Bittu’s grandfather Beant Singh is seen as a hero of the anti-terrorism campaign in the state, who was assassinated in a terror attack while still in office in 1995, he enjoyed support from the Hindu community.
The BJP is expected to field him from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha segment, where six out of nine assembly segments are dominated by urban voters.
Bittu became the first elected president of the Punjab Youth Congress in December 2008 following an initiative of Rahul Gandhi “to bring inner party democracy in the Youth Congress”.
After joining the BJP, Bittu said the people have made up their mind to elect the BJP to power at the Centre in the Lok Sabha polls, adding there is a need to plug the gap as Punjab has been left behind by other states.
He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah among others stating they have a lot of affection for Punjab and want to do a lot for the state.
“There is a need to plug the gaps as Punjab has been left behind by other states. We will work as bridge for the farmers, workers, industry,” he said.
Recalling the dark days of terrorism in the state, Bittu praised the role of the BJP and the RSS in working for peace.
Reacting to the development, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring dubbed him as “thankless”.
“While his grandfather remained the chief minister, his cousin and his uncle remained ministers in Punjab governments too. One should be thankful to the Congress for all this rather than leaving the party for self-motives,” said Warring.
Bittu also called on BJP national chief JP Nadda after joining the party.
