Ludhiana is the commercial capital of Punjab. Also known as India’s Manchester, Ludhiana is home to the most lucrative and prominent industries of the country. Not only this, Ludhiana contributes the most to Punjab GDP. Therefore, the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat is one to witness a fierce battle amongst the major political parties. Furthermore, Ludhiana is now the hottest seat of the Lok Sabha elections thanks to Congress high command’s bold decision to pit the State party President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring against the party turncoat.
However the most interesting thing is that BJP's Ravneet Bittu and AAP's Ashok Parashar Pappi, were both once members of Congress. Hence 3 congress members will be locking horns in the contest. Raja Warring is the party President while Ravneet Bittu had left the party for BJP in March. Pappi had contested the Ludhiana south Assembly elections in 2012 on a Congress ticket but was defeated. He joined AAP in 2016 but after not getting a ticket in 2017, he decided to switch back to Congress. He left Congress again in 2022 for AAP.
Bittu's shocking move to BJP
Sitting Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu had delivered a major blow to Congress with a shocking move to BJP. BJP then proceeded to announce Bittu as their own LS candidate for Ludhiana. In response, Congress also pulled out the big guns, fielding State Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as their candidate. As per reports, Bittu and Warring shared cordial relations during their time together at Congress. However, Congress likely wants to win this constituency at all costs having lost their sitting MP to BJP, hence the bold move to appoint the State party president for the Lok Sabha seat.
BJP looking for Rural votes from Ravneet Bittu’s contacts
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be contesting the Lok Sabha Elections in Punjab without an alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). This will be the first time they are contesting solo since 1996. This poses a challenge for BJP, who have usually banked on urban votes of the state, while Akali Dal brought in the rural votes. Furthermore, as a result of the farmers' protest, BJP is being openly opposed by the farmers in rural areas, some have even outrightly banned BJP leaders from entering their village.
Ravneet Bittu however has secured two consecutive victories in Ludhiana Lok Sabha elections. Political experts say that BJP hopes that Bittu could use some of his personal relations to earn some of the rural voters’ favor. However, it is important to note that Bittu was denied the Congress Lok Sabha ticket. Reason for this is that Congress surveys suggested that Bittu was likely to lose in Ludhiana this time around, and was being contemplated to be fielded from Adampur. Miffed by the denial of the ticket, Bittu had decided to shift allegiances and join BJP, who promptly announced Bittu as their LS candidate for Ludhiana.
Congress fields State Party president as response to Bittu’s defection
So, Congress just lost their elected MP to the opposition. In an attempt to retain the seat at all costs, Congress fields their State party president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Warring is a senior member of Congress and was a 3-time MLA from the Giddarbaha constituency. It is important to note, while Raja Warring is an outsider battling in Ludhiana, local leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu, was also one of the frontrunners for the Lok Sabha ticket. However, sources suggest that giving Ashu the ticket would have resulted in heated infighting within the party.
Congress already faces internal conflicts due to the reportedly controversial picks for 10 of the 13 constituencies. In Bathinda, Raja Warring’s wife Amrita Warring was reportedly looking for the Lok Sabha ticket, and is unhappy with the party’s decision of candidate. Hence to avoid further infighting, Congress did not field a local leader to further avoid other local leaders’ ire as per experts. Congress also likely fears internal support for Bittu from their own workers.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) faces trouble
Times however are tough for the Akalis as experts say that they seem to be losing the rural voters’ popularity and the Panthak support. There have been several instances of blasphemy and sacrilege to the Sikh sentiments by SAD, which has lost them some support. SAD is fielding Ludhiana East ex-MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon with the hope of ending the winless streak in Ludhiana. Ranjit Singh Dhillon was a two-time councillor before contesting assembly elections from the Ludhiana East constituency in 2012, winning against Gurmail Singh Pehalwan of Congress. However, experts say that dwindling support and piling controversies are likely to place the SAD candidate at 3rd or 4th at best.
Ludhiana Lok Sabha 2024 Candidates:
- Ranjit Singh Dhillon (Shiromani Akali Dal)
- Ravneet Bittu (BJP)
- Ashok Parashar Pappi (AAP)
- Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (Congress)
Polling information:
There are a total of 1,842 polling stations set up across Ludhiana. From a total of 17,28,619 voters, 9,22,005 are male, 8,06,484 are female while 130 voters are transgenders. Ludhiana has the most transgender voters out of all the constituencies in Punjab this year.