Who is Ravneet Singh Bittu, Likely to Be Part of Modi 3.0 Cabinet, Even After Losing Polls

New Delhi: As Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi is all set to take oath as the prime minister of India for the third consecutive term, all eyes are on the potential cabinet, which will also be taking oath at the swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday. Amidst speculations on the ministries distribution to the probable candidates, the BJP leader from Punjab, Ravneet Singh Bittu, has grabbed the spotlight after he was picked by PM Modi for his inclusion in the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, even though he lost the elections from the Ludhiana seat.

Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, PM-designate Narendra Modi on Sunday held a meeting with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, at the traditional high tea at his official residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in Delhi, who are likely to be inducted in the Union Cabinet on Sunday. Along with other leaders of the alliance, BJP leader and three-time former Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu too attended the meeting of probable ministers to join the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, despite not winning the Ludhiana seat in the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Sources claimed that Ravneet Singh Bittu has been picked by Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi and is to be inducted into the Union council of ministers despite his defeat in the elections. The decision is being considered as a masterstroke by the prime minister as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks to build a base for the BJP-led NDA government in Punjab. In the swearing-in ceremony, over 65 ministers are expected to take oath on Sunday evening.

Who is Ravneet Singh Bittu?

Ravneet Singh Bittu, a 3-term former Congress MP from Punjab, had joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He contested on the BJP ticket seeking his re-election from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat but lost to Congress’ Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Bittu, who is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ludhiana in the 2014, 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha from the Anandpur Sahib seat in 2009.

In March 2021, he was briefly appointed the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha when the existing Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was busy in 2021 West Bengal election campaigns. On March 24, 2024 he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Bittu confirmed his inclusion in the cabinet while talking to media personnel following the tea meeting with PM Modi. "It is a very big thing for me that they (NDA) have chosen me in their cabinet even after losing the elections. Punjab has been given priority this time," Bittu said.

Sharing his aspirations to become the chief minister of Punjab, the BJP leader pledged to prepare the ground to ensure BJP's victory in the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.

Bittu said, "I will prepare the ground for BJP to win the Assembly elections in 2027. Just about 2 years ago, the people of Punjab had rejected the Congress and everyone knows the work that the AAP is doing in the state. So, people have only one option and that is BJP.”