Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s claim, made through a tweet, that Ravneet Singh Bittu “would not be an MP soon” has proven accurate as Bittu faces a sudden change of fortunes.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided not to renominate the Union Minister of State for a fresh Rajya Sabha term, marking a swift turn in his parliamentary journey.
Mann had claimed on Wednesday that Bittu ‘won’t make it’. He had also gone a step further in his prediction, stating that Bittu “won’t remain a minister” either. With the BJP widely expected to carry out a Union cabinet reshuffle in the coming weeks, it remains to be seen whether this second claim also materialises.
Meanwhile, the denial of re-nomination has sent mixed signals on party’s strategy towards the Sikhs.
Party sources indicated that the BJP high command has made contradictory signals on its Sikh outreach in Punjab. On the one hand, a Sikh leader was made state chief in the form of Kewal Singh Dhillon’s elevation, while on the other, another prominent Sikh leader like Ravneet Bittu was removed from the Rajya Sabha list.
This development signals a noticeable shift in the fortunes of Ravneet Singh Bittu, who was until recently viewed as one of the BJP’s key faces in Punjab. The grandson of former Chief Minister Beant Singh, Bittu had joined the BJP in 2024 after quitting Congress and was seen as a prominent Sikh leader capable of broadening the party’s appeal in the state.
Just months ago, Bittu enjoyed high visibility within the party. He was the only leader from Punjab to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Central team’s flood relief visit to the state in 2025. His active role in coordinating relief efforts and distributing assistance had positioned him prominently in the national spotlight.
However, the party’s decision to elevate Kewal Singh Dhillon as the new Punjab BJP chief appears to have altered the internal dynamics. Bittu’s prominence as the go-to Sikh face seems to have been recalibrated following Dhillon’s appointment.
Despite the setback on the Rajya Sabha front, Bittu has been vocal about his future plans. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to contest the Punjab Assembly elections in 2027, indicating a shift from national politics back to grassroots electoral battles in the state.
In a separate but notable chapter of his political career, Bittu had been labelled as “traitor” by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he switched to the BJP. The standoff between the two gained significant attention when Bittu, during a public interaction, accused the Congress of betraying Punjab’s interests, prompting sharp retorts from the Gandhi family scion.
