Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu Resigns, Likely to Focus on Punjab Polls

New Delhi : Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu resigned from the Union Council of Ministers on Friday, with President Droupadi Murmu accepting his resignation with immediate effect. In an official statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said the President accepted Bittu’s resignation on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi under Article 75(2) of the Constitution of India. Bittu’s resignation follows the completion of his Rajya Sabha tenure on June 21. He had represented Rajasthan in the Upper House from August 2024 to June 2026, after being nominated to fill the remainder of the term vacated by senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal. Having served in the Union Council of Ministers since 2024, Bittu is now expected to shift his focus to the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, where the BJPd is preparing to contest independently. Soon after stepping down, Bittu expressed gratitude to President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi for entrusting him with ministerial responsibilities. “It has been an honour to serve the nation as Minister of State in the Government of India. I sincerely thank Hon’ble President Droupadi Murmu Ji and Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji for giving me this opportunity. I remain committed to serving the people, particularly those of Punjab, and will continue working towards the vision of a Viksit Bharat,” Bittu said in a post on X. His resignation comes at a time when the BJP has begun strengthening its organisation in Punjab ahead of the Assembly polls. The party has already announced that it will contest the elections on its own, ruling out any alliance with its former ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). During his recent visit to Punjab, PM Modi had launched a sharp attack on the Akali Dal, accusing it of pursuing “selfish interests” while neglecting the welfare of the state’s people. Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, began his political career in the Congress and was elected to the Lok Sabha three times from Punjab. He switched to the BJP in 2024, ahead of the general elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bittu contested on a BJP ticket for the first time but was defeated by Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring by 20,942 votes. Earlier, in the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, Bittu contested as a Congress candidate against Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann . He finished third, with Badal winning the seat. The BJP is seeking to improve its footprint in Punjab after securing only two seats in the 2022 Assembly elections, in which the Aam Aadmi Party registered a landslide victory by winning 92 of the state’s 117 Assembly constituencies. Also Read: Dharmendra Pradhan Resignation: How 20 MPs Protect His Job

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