Chandigarh, Jul 24 (PTI) With President Droupadi Murmu accepting his resignation from the Union council of ministers, BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu on Friday said he will now shift his entire focus on poll-bound Punjab as his party is eyeing to form the government in the border state.
Bittu is likely to contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections from Ludhiana.
President Murmu on Friday accepted the resignation of Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries Bittu.
On the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the president accepted the resignation of Bittu from the Union council of ministers with immediate effect.
Bittu, a prominent Sikh face of the BJP, said he had tendered his resignation on June 21, when his Rajya Sabha term ended.
He said he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Jalandhar and also on Monday that his resignation be accepted.
“I told the PM saab during the Jalandhar rally and also on Monday that it is my request that my resignation be accepted and give your blessings,” Bittu told PTI.
In June, Bittu had expressed his desire to work for Punjab in the Vidhan Sabha after spending nearly 17 years in Parliament.
Bittu had then said that the BJP made him the minister even though he had lost the 2024 parliamentary elections.
On the 2027 assembly polls, Bittu expressed confidence that the BJP would form the government in Punjab as people of the state were fed up with the rival political parties.
“People of Punjab are fed up (with other parties). People are very much aware of development and progress taking place in other (BJP-ruled) states and they want prosperity in Punjab as well,” Bittu said.
He joined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh who was assassinated in 1995.
Bittu remained Lok Sabha MP for three terms on Congress tickets. He was elected an MP for the first time from Anandpur Sahib in 2009. Later, he was elected from Ludhiana twice in 2014 and 2019.
After he joined the BJP, he unsuccessfully contested from Ludhiana seat in 2024. He was defeated by Congress candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
The Punjab assembly elections are due early next year. The BJP has already said that it will contest the assembly elections on its own.
Last week, Prime Minister Modi had unveiled various rail and road projects for Punjab and had also targeted the ruling AAP government over various issues including law and order, corruption and outstanding debt of the state. PTI CHS VSD KSS KSS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.