Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu and the Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh 'Raja Warring' were bosom pals even after Bittu joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
However, the two fell apart, after Warring opted to contest against Bittu from Ludhiana parliamentary constituency, from where he was fielded by the Congress party. Bittu, after resigning from the Congress had been nominated from here, the constituency he had been representing since 2014 as a Congress MP.
Bittu was defeated in a cliffhanger contest by Warring by a margin of about 22,000 votes. Had it not been Warring, Bittu might well have won. Warring is a tough fighter. Bittu knew it well. He felt annoyed because, given their friendship, he had not expected Warring to contest against him.
Both Bittu and Warring have risen from the Indian Youth Congress. Bittu was the Punjab Youth Congress president, while Warring later became the president of the Indian Youth Congress. Bittu did not work under Warring, as by the time he became the IYC president, Bittu had relinquished the state presidency.
Bittu was appointed as minister of state in the railways even after losing to Ludhiana. He was later elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.
Warring had to vacate his Gidderbaha assembly segment after getting elected to the parliament. The Congress has fielded his wife Amrita Warring from here. Bittu, nourishing the hurt of defeat, has been camping in Gidderbaha, campaigning for the party candidate Manpreet Singh Badal, who has been giving a tough fight to both the Congress as well as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party candidates.
Badal has in the past served as Gidderbaha MLA for four terms when he was in the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Bittu, normally, is not known for taking much interest in any elections other than his own. However, Gidderbaha is proving to be an exception. Partly because he has instructions from the BJP high command, which, unlike the Congress, means business, and ensures its leaders work hard on the ground, and partly because Bittu wants to get even with Warring by seeing his wife Amrita Warring getting defeated in Gidderbaha.
Bittu does not leave any chance to target Warring. During the parliamentary elections, he questioned the source of Warring’s luxurious lifestyle like designer clothes, highly expensive watches and expensive cars, which he (Warring) appropriately replied to.
Recently, Warring, in a lighter vein while addressing a public meeting, referred to his wife, Amrita, getting too busy to have any time for him (Warring). He said she leaves in the morning and comes back late in the evening. Warring meant that she was too preoccupied with her work. He said it in pure humour, as Warring is known for resorting to jokes during his speeches.
Bittu seized the opportunity and accused Warring of maligning his wife with “misogynist” remarks, which Amrita strongly refuted in a detailed statement, in defence of her husband.
Warring won from Gidderbaha first time in 2012, defeating Manpreet Badal, who had left the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal and formed his own People’s Party of Punjab. At that time, he was supported by Sukhbir Badal, who wanted to ensure the defeat of his estranged cousin, Manpreet.
Warring has since then won from here three times, consecutively. Now, he is faced with the toughest challenge, so far. Interestingly, Manpreet is again in the fight, and this time reportedly being supported by his cousin Sukhbir, as his party, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal opted out of elections.
Smelling a chance to get Warring defeated this time, Bittu is trying his best and spending maximum time in the assembly segment. Otherwise, he was not known to be a great fan of Manpreet, when both were together in the Congress. So much so, he once taunted Manpreet in 2019, when he was the Finance Minister in the Congress government and Bittu was the Congress MP from Ludhiana, for his strict financial discipline, which he thought was putting the party at a disadvantage.
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