Warring vs Bittu in Ludhiana | Handpicked to lead battle between ‘vafadari’ and ‘gaddari’, task cut out for Rahul Gandhi’s ‘jarnail’

Senior leaders in Congress said Warring (46) has been handpicked by party leader Rahul Gandhi to “give a befitting reply to turncoat Bittu”. “We have been clearly told that the only motive is ‘Bittu nu nahi jittan dena’, no matter how. He has to be taught a lesson,” said a senior party leader.

The ride ahead, however, is not going to be a cakewalk for the Gidderbaha legislator, who has been tagged as an “outsider” by Bittu.

“A Punjab Congress president cannot be an outsider in any constituency,” Warring, who took over as the party’s state unit chief in April 2022, told the Indian Express earlier in the day.

Warring, who belongs to Warring village of Muktsar district, may find it difficult to win voters in Ludhiana that has a unique demography of six urban and three rural segments, apart from being an industry and business hub.

What might click for Warring is his image of being a firebrand, grassroots leader who rose from a common worker to the party’s Youth wing president and then the state president. A matriculate, Warring had lost both his parents early and was raised by his maternal family.

Warring has been chosen for Ludhiana over the party’s working president and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, considered a strong, local Hindu face in the district. Ashu is considered close to Bittu. A two-time former MLA from Ludhiana West, Ashu had lost the 2022 Assembly election to AAP’s Gurpreet Gogi. Ashu was later jailed in an alleged foodgrain scam after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in Punjab, before being bailed out.

Sources close to Ashu said that after the announcement of Warring’s candidature, he was disappointed over his own party stamping him as “tainted” in a “vendetta case filed by AAP” and “not trusting him enough to win the Ludhiana seat.”

However, speaking to The Indian Express, Ashu said: “The party is in the mood to give munh-tod jawaab (befitting reply) to those who left. If the party thinks Warring is the best person to do that, we will fully support his campaign. This election is not about A, B, C candidate but a bigger fight against BJP to save the country’s ideals and principles”.

Ashu however said that Warring has to work a “little harder” as he is not a local. “Challenges have to be accepted for big victories. Now it would really depend on how our cadre across Ludhiana works on the ground to make Raja win. Lok Sabha elections are seen on a bigger canvas. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi doesn’t belong to Varanasi and Rahul Gandhi doesn’t belong to Wayanad but still, they contest from these seats. But certainly, a local person reaches voters better. Now when the party has sent our president Saab to contest from Ludhiana, we will win it. I will continue to work for the people of Ludhiana but maybe this time, the party wanted to field a bigger face against Bittu,” said Ashu.

Ashu’s supporters, meanwhile, have started taking to social media to announce the boycott of the election.

Party’s Dakha segment in-charge Captain Sandeep Sandhu says that such “overwhelming” has been the response to Warring’s candidature that villagers have decided to distribute laddoos in the entire segment. “Our president has his own identity and a large fan following. His popularity is not district specific. Since he became state president, he has been constantly on the move,” says Sandhu.

Another senior party leader said that efforts were made to convince two-time Congress’s former Khanna MLA Gurkirat Kotli, the cousin of Bittu, to contest from Ludhiana but he refused.

Amarjit Singh Tikka, former Punjab Congress general secretary, now with BJP, said: “The Ludhiana contest is now more of Rahul Gandhi vs Amit Shah fight. While Warring has Gandhi’s backing, Bittu is strongly supported by the Shah. But neutrally speaking, Warring will face an uphill task of connecting with the people of Ludhiana”.

According to the party insiders, a reason why the party chose Warring for Ludhiana was to quell the infighting in district Congress ongoing since long. Both Ashu and district Congress chief Sanjay Talwar were vying for the ticket, and their supporters were running parallel shows.

Talwar says: “Yes I had also asked for a ticket from Ludhiana but now we will all work united to make Warring win. Despite the BJP playing the Ram Mandir card, urban voters are not supporting them.”

Reacting to Warring’s candidature, Bittu said: “Warring and I have worked together very closely and we share cordial relations but elections are not fought with emotions. From the very beginning, it was clear that Congress never trusted its local Ludhiana leadership. By fielding an outsider, they have already accepted their defeat.”

Warring was elected as MLA from Gidderbaha in 2012, 2017 and 2022 but faced massive defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Bathinda against SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal.