From Rahul Gandhi’s soldier to Narendra Modi’s man, Ravneet Bittu eyes fourth term in Ludhiana

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, May 29

It’s 9 am and the cavalcade is getting ready to carry Punjab’s lone Z-plus protectee candidate and three-time sitting MP from his friend’s house in Sarabha Nagar here on Tuesday.

After being dislodged from his official accommodation on May 10-11 midnight, Ravneet Singh Bittu has been putting up at the BJP office in Dugri while his family is staying at a friend’s house, where he often comes to spend time with them.

With a few visitors waiting in the lobby, the 48-year-old Congress turncoat is today a bit late in getting ready for the day, following his occupancy in political bigwigs visiting his constituency ahead of the June 1 D-day.

As the clock strikes 9.30 am, a smart, beaming youth clad in white shirt with denims, sporting a BJP symbol on his chest, scarf around his neck and red turban steps out from his friend’s home. He straightaway walks to his mother Jasbir Kaur sitting in the dining room and after seeking her blessings, takes her along to the dining table for breakfast.

As Bittu’s wife Anupama joins them, all three have a quick chat about family and other personal matters over breakfast before he comes out to meet the visitors. Barring the nomination day, Bittu has never been seen in the traditional white kurta pyjama, which he used to wear in all his previous election campaigns.

At 10 am, Bittu gets seated in the rear seat of the white bullet proof Toyota Fortuner loaded with eatables, drinks, election publicity material and garlands as a police Gypsy leads the cavalcade of 6 SUVs carrying security personnel from the Central and state forces.

After traveling for 7 km, the first halt is at Shivpuri, where BJP flags and buntings greet the leader. Local party leader Rakesh Jain introduces city elders to Bittu, who responds with folded hands, plastic smiles and bends down to seek their blessings. Village children get amused on getting Bittu’s masks, caps and sunshades, sporting which they pose for a photo with their known leader.

Talking about his daily routine, Bittu says: “During the campaigning days, the breakfast is very light. I prefer to take poha in the morning and keep my paranthas along for the day.” While travelling from one function to another, he prefers to eat home-made parathas and drinks lots of water to keep himself hydrated in extreme summer.

“Today, we are travelling around the city with no major public meetings organised elsewhere as our aim is now to reach out to people in maximum places with the polling day just two to three hours away,” Bittu tells The Tribune before leaving for Hotel Hyatt Regency, where Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to arrive for meeting local industrialists.

In his first public address of the day, Bittu, who before joining the BJP was known as Rahul Gandhi’s soldier, presents him as “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s man” and hard sells Modi’s rhetoric on nationalism and his slain grandfather, former Chief Minister Beant Singh’s “sacrifice”. Narrating the achievements of the Modi government, Bittu talks about the recent visit of PM and Home Minister Amit Shah, which he feels has “changed the scenario of Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat by giving the BJP a winning majority”.

He tells the public that the AAP-led state government is bankrupt.

“They don’t have a single penny for development. Only the Union Government can bring Punjab/Ludhiana out of the present mess,” he says.

Promising big projects like metro rail, AIIMS, international airport and flights, cargo flights, sports hub, bringing back industry to Ludhiana, the two-time MP from Ludhiana says addressing the grievances of industrialists, opening of trade through the Attari border and solving farmers’ problems would be his priority.

“My late grandfather Beant Singh sacrificed his life for the nation, not for one party,” he says, claiming that day-by-day, people were understanding this and were convinced by the vision he was giving to them.

Reiterating that the refusal of the Congress party to accept the invitation to the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony was the tipping point for him to join the BJP, he says the BJP’s old ally SAD had not only supported the now-scrapped three controversial farm laws but had also misguided the BJP-led Union Government on the issue.

Calling his friend-turned-foe Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring an “outsider”, Bittu tells the gathering that his nearest rival this election was tricked to contest from Ludhiana by “sharks” in the Congress to end Warring’s clout in the party. “Vote for the BJP to develop the city. I will make Ludhiana a metro city like Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad,” the BJP nominee promises.