Lok Sabha polls Phase 7: Ludhiana to witness multi-cornered contest as BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu eyes third consecutive victory

New Delhi [India], May 30 : Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, one of the 13 Parliamentary constituencies will go for polls in the seventh and final phase of elections on June 1.
The seat is witnessing a multi-cornered contest among the Bharatiya Janata Party leader and two-time Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashok Parashar Pappi. Shiromani Akali Dal has fielded Ranjit Singh Dhillon as the party's candidate from Ludhiana.
Pappi represents Ludhiana Central in the Punjab Assembly.
Ravneet Singh Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and the son of former Punjab minister Tej Parkash Singh. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Bittu defeated Simarjeet Singh Bains from the Lok Insaaf Party by 76,372 votes. In 2014, he defeated the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Harvinder Singh Phoolka with a margin of 19,709 votes.
The Punjab Congress President and Ludhiana Lok Sabha candidate, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, expressed his confidence in winning the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, stating that the warm welcome he has received from the people of Ludhiana indicates that they are going to shower him with immense love and support in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
"The kind of welcome I have received seems that Ludhiana people are going to pour too much love...There are various issues in Ludhiana, and I think that one of the biggest is industry and for that, we need a blueprint plan. Pollution is also another issue. We have to make Ludhiana 'Manchester'...The objective is also to uplift the labourers through which Ludhiana's development was possible," he said.
Warring described his electoral fight against the BJP candidate for the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat as a struggle between loyalty and betrayal.
"In a way, a person heads towards a battlefield for fighting, and elections, similarly, I am also going to take the blessings of Ludhiana's people. It's not Congress vs Congress. It's betrayal vs loyalty," Warring said.
AAP leader Ashok Parashar Pappi also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Farm Bill 2024 saying that the bill was taken back after so many farmers died protesting against it.
"The position of the Ludhiana BJP candidate is such that PM Modi cancelled his rally here. Just Union Home Minister Amit Shah came to Ludhiana to campaign today," said Ashok Parashar taking a dig at BJP's Ludhiana candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu.
Hitting out at the centre led by BJP he said, "Firstly, before asking for votes they (BJP leaders) should give us our Rs 8000 crores...The people of Punjab don't forget things easily..."
Akali Dal candidate Ranjit Singh Dhillon also slammed Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu while highlighting the pressing issues in Ludhiana.
Dhillon emphasized the city's diverse demographics, comprising industrialists, shopkeepers, and businessmen, each with their own set of concerns.
Speaking to ANI, Dhillon said, "There are a lot of issues in Ludhiana. It is such a big city. Here there are many industrialists, shopkeepers, businessmen, there are a lot of issues to fight elections here".
Slamming the current Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, for 'lack of work' in the area, Dhillon said, "On what grounds are they going to ask for votes? He has been an MP for ten years now, he hasn't solved any issue till now. He has been examined now, it won't happen again".
"In the last ten years, what has he done for the area? The one who did not do anything for ten years, won't do anything in future as well," Ranjit Singh said.
Appealing to voters to prioritize character and performance, Dhillon said, "I appeal to the people to vote on the character of the candidate. If you see my record as a councillor as an MLA and if I will get a chance again, I will change Ludhiana," he said.
BJP's Ravneet Singh Bittu has appealed to the voters of Ludhiana to vote for the development model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Let's come together to make Shrestha Ludhiana."
In Punjab, voting for its 13 seats will take place in a single phase, with the seventh and final phase on June 1 seeing voting in Gurudaspur, Amritsar, Khadoor Sahib, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nandpur Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Firozpur, Bathinda, Sangrur, and Patiala constituencies.