Bittu, Warring or Parashar? Voters’ choice sealed in EVMs

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, June 1

Ravneet Singh Bittu, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring or Ashok Parashar Pappi. Who will be the next MP from Ludhiana? Voters have sealed their choice in electronic voting machines (EVMs), which will be opened on June 4 to declare the winner.

With the polling in one of the most bitterly fought and high-stake General Election concluded in Ludhiana on Saturday, the fate of three-time sitting MP Bittu and Punjab Congress president Warring and AAP’s sitting MLA Parashar among 43 contestants was sealed in the EVMs.

It is for the first time in the political history that Ludhiana has witnessed a triangular battle this time. The rather unexpected entry of Warring had turned Ludhiana, which is a predominantly urban general constituency, into a hot seat and also made the contest interesting.

The three-time MLA from Gidderbaha and former Transport Minister, Warring has come here all the way from his home constituency Bathinda to contest what he says, “war against traitor”.

Once party colleagues and friends, Warring and Bittu have turned foes, with the latter calling the Congress candidate, who is also former president of the Indian Youth Congress, an “outsider”, saying he has been “tricked by sharks in the Congress to end his clout in the party”.

Bittu had quit the Congress to join the BJP, which has fielded him again from Ludhiana, which the grandson of slain Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, has been representing since 2014. Earlier, he had won his maiden parliamentary election from Anandpur Sahib in 2009 to become the youngest MP from Punjab at the age of 33.

The ruling AAP’s sitting first-time MLA Pappi gave Bittu and Warring a tough fight, turning the contest triangular.

The highest turnout of almost 65 per cent was recorded in his own Assembly segment Ludhiana Central has boosted Parashar’s chances of turning a dark horse in the clash of titans.

The SAD’s former one-time MLA from Ludhiana East Ranjit Singh Dhillon also tried hard to remain in the contest.

Having over 17.58-lakh voters spread across nine Assembly segments in the district, Ludhiana parliamentary constituency has been the stronghold of the Congress and the SAD, which had won this Sikh-dominated but urban seat for six and five times, respectively.

Of the total 12 Lok Sabha elections held here since 1977, the Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (Amritsar) had also represented Ludhiana once in 1989.

While the AAP had contested this seat once in 2014, finishing runner-up, the BJP had supported the SAD under its previous alliance for nine times and had fought Ludhiana alone twice in 1996 and 1992 when it had ended third and second, respectively.

No hat-trick yet

Since the first parliamentary election in 1977, no one has recorded a hat-trick so far by winning the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat three times in a row. Bittu in 2019 and 2014 and Amrik Singh Aliwal of the SAD in 1998 and 1996 had been elected from here twice consecutively during the past 12 elections.

Bittu is seeking a rare third consecutive term from here this election while all other contestants were first- timers.