Ravneet Singh Bittu eyes hat-trick; AAP, SAD, BJP still weighing options for Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, March 8

The sitting MP from Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat Ravneet Singh Bittu of Congress, is eyeing third term from this urban parliamentary constituency this time while the state’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Centre’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are still weighing options to select their respective candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Having over 17 lakh voters spread across nine Assembly segments in the state’s largest district in terms of area and population, Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency has been the stronghold of the Congress and the SAD, which had won this Sikh-dominated seat for six and five times, respectively.

Of the total 12 Lok Sabha elections held here since 1977, the Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (Amritsar) had also represented Ludhiana once in 1989.

While the AAP had contested this seat once in 2014, finishing runner-up, the BJP had supported the SAD under its previous alliance for nine times and had fought Ludhiana independently twice in 1996 and 1992 when it had ended third and second, respectively.

With the political activities for the 2024 parliamentary elections picking up pace, the lobbying for the party tickets has also intensified.

Though no political party has yet announced its candidate from Ludhiana, the two-time sitting MP Bittu is the strong contender for the Congress ticket while some local leaders are trying their luck for nominations from the AAP, SAD and the BJP.

While AAP, it is learnt, is considering to field some outsider or senior leader from other political party, who may join its fold, from Ludhiana, the SAD and the BJP leadership is still considering the possible re-alliance between both the parties, which had severed ties following the controversial farm laws, which the BJP-led Centre had later withdrawn.

Even as Bittu has intensified his activities in the recent past, sources in the Congress party hinted that he might opt out from Ludhiana and return to Anandpur Sahib, which he had won in his maiden election in 2009.

“In that case, Anandpur Sahib Congress MP Manish Tewari, who had also represented Ludhiana in 2009 and had finished runner-up in 2004, could be the probable candidate from here,” a senior leader hinted.

The names of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Congress district president Sanjay Talwar are also doing the rounds for the Congress ticket from here.

A former MLA from now-scrapped Qila Raipur Assembly seat, Jassi Khangura, who had quit Congress to join AAP in February 2022, is also learnt to be among few locals under consideration of the AAP top leadership for fielding from Ludhiana.

Besides a host of local leaders, including Jiwan Gupta, Gurdev Sharma Debi, Anil Sareen and SR Ladhar, the names of former MLA Simarjit Singh Bains, who had supported the BJP in the recently held Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, and former IAS officer Sarwan Singh Channy, who had joined the saffron party in 2019 and had been the longest serving Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana so far, are also doing the rounds for the BJP ticket from here. Another BJP Kisan Morcha leader from here, Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal, is camping in the national capital, projecting himself as a strong contender for the party ticket from Ludhiana.

As far as SAD is concerned, former minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, who was elected from Ludhiana in 2004, former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal, who had ended third in 2019 and had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly election from Ludhiana West seat by even losing the security deposit, and sitting party MLA from Mullanpur Dakha, Manpreet Singh Ayali are among the probable candidates, if the SAD goes alone.

In the event of the possible SAD-BJP re-alliance, the BJP leadership is learnt to be staking claim on Ludhiana seat as well this time.

Congress has won Ludhiana seat 6 times, sad 5 times

• Sitting MP Ravneet Bittu is a strong contender for the Congress ticket. Sources hinted that he might opt out from Ludhiana and return to Anandpur Sahib, which he had won in his maiden election in 2009. The names of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Congress district president Sanjay Talwar are also doing the rounds for Congress ticket
• Former MLA Jassi Khangura, who had quit Congress to join AAP, is learnt to be among few locals under consideration by the AAP for fielding from Ludhiana
• From BJP, leaders including Jiwan Gupta, Gurdev Sharma Debi, Anil Sareen and SR Ladhar, the names of former MLA Simarjit Singh Bains, and former IAS officer Sarwan Singh Channy are doing the rounds. Another BJP leader, Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal, is projecting himself as a strong contender for the party ticket
• As far as SAD is concerned, former minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly election from Ludhiana West, and sitting party MLA from Mullanpur Dakha, Manpreet Singh Ayali are among the probable candidates, if the SAD goes alone