BJP Leader Ravneet Singh Bittu Resigns as Union Minister, Eyes Punjab Assembly Elections

BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu on Friday resigned as Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries. Bittu’s exit from the Council of Ministers is likely to sharpen his focus on the state’s upcoming assembly elections in Punjab. His term as a Rajya Sabha MP had already completed in June. A press release from Rashtrapati Bhavan said the resignation was processed under Article 75(2) of the Constitution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommended that the resignation be accepted and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent without delay. The statement said the President accepted Bittu’s resignation from the Union Council of Ministers with immediate effect, on the Prime Minister’s advice. Bittu had been part of the Union government since June 2024, when he was made a minister of state despite losing the Lok Sabha contest from Ludhiana. To keep him in the ministry, the BJP nominated him to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, filling the remainder of a term vacated by Congress leader KC Venugopal. A three-time former Congress MP, Bittu switched to the BJP in March 2024 after a long stint with his old party. Upon joining BJP, Home Minister Amit Shah promoted Bittu as a key Sikh face for the party’s Punjab campaign. He is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in 1995. Bittu had earlier represented Anandpur Sahib in the Lok Sabha in 2009 before winning from Ludhiana in 2014 and 2019 and had also served as the Congress’s leader and whip in the Lok Sabha during his years with the party. His resignation comes as the BJP gears up for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, which it is expected to fight alone after ruling out a tie-up with the Shiromani Akali Dal. The party managed just two seats in the 2022 assembly polls and is now looking to substantially improve its footprint in the state.