Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday assumed charge of the office for a third consecutive term after taking oath alongside 72 Ministers on Sunday. All the states got representation in the Council of Ministers but a unique pattern has been observed in Modi 3.0 as it is the third instance when a leader from Punjab managed to secure a ministerial berth despite losing the election. Before this, Prime Minister Modi had included two leaders who lost Lok Sabha elections in Punjab in his team.
Punjab leaders who made it to Modi Cabinet despite losing the polls:
Arun Jaitley:
BJP’s former strategist and war room expert Arun Jaitley fought the Lok Sabha election from Punjab’s Amritsar seat in 2014. He faced defeat at the hands of former Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh. However, he was given mighty Defence and Finance portfolios even as he failed to register a victory.
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Hardeep Singh Puri:
Former diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri fought the Lok Sabha polls 2019 from Amritsar but lost to Congress’ Gurjeet Singh Aujla. Despite losing the election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi entrusted Hardeep Singh Puri with significant responsibilities in the central government. In his second term, he appointed Puri as the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, as well as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Ravneet Singh Bittu:
Congress turncoat Ravneet Singh Bittu fought the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Punjab’s Ludhiana. Despite securing victory in 2019 on a Congress ticket, Bittu lost to Congress state chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. this time. However, he was given a ministerial post in Modi 3.0.
BJP making inroads in Punjab:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is desperately trying to frame an organisational structure in Punjab after its oldest ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), snapped decades-old ties with it. BJP’s urban vote bank and SAD’s stronghold in rural areas had served as a formidable concoction for the other parties in the state.
Now when the BJP and SAD are not in an alliance, the former has to make inroads in the rural belt of Punjab, where people are already annoyed with the saffron party over agrarian issues. 2020-21 farmers' protest labelled the BJP as an anti-farmer and pro-corporate party. To shed this image, the saffron party has been perpetually trying to promote Punjab leaders to subside the electoral damage in the state. In a bid to spread its footprints in Punjab, the BJP inducted many Congress turncoats in the party folds, giving a major jolt to the grand old party in the state. Captain Amarinder Singh, Sunil Jakhar, Manpreet Badal and Ravneet Bittu were among the key leaders who joined the BJP in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha election campaign.
Ravneet Singh Bittu, grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, was made a minister in Modi 3.0. After assuming the charge, Bittu said he would ensure Punjab farmers get a red carpet welcome at PMO. He also said he would act as a bridge between Punjab and Centre.
After Navjot Singh Sidhu left BJP, the party was in search of a prominent Sikh face in Punjab. Perhaps now their eyes are set on Ravneet Singh Bittu. A glimpse of this was seen in Bittu's statement. Before taking the oath, Bittu had said that if given the opportunity to become the CM, he will definitely accept it.