Chandigarh, October 1, 2026 (HS BAWA)
A sharp political exchange erupted between Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu on Thursday, hours after Warring indicated his exit as Punjab Congress president, with Bittu taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and Warring hitting back with a warning that he was “messing with the wrong guy”.
The exchange brought the long-running political rivalry between the two Ludhiana leaders back into focus at a particularly significant moment for the Punjab Congress, which is preparing for a change of guard in the state unit ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Bittu fired the first salvo following the developments surrounding Warring’s removal or resignation as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president.
Taking to X and tagging Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Bittu wrote: “Use and throw POLICY of Rahul Gandhi.”
The remark was an apparent dig at the Congress leadership over Warring’s exit from the post after heading the Punjab unit since 2022.
Warring responded sharply, directly addressing Bittu and making it clear that he remained firmly behind Rahul Gandhi despite losing the state Congress president’s position.
“I have one genuine piece of advice for you, @RavneetBittu: you are messing with the wrong guy,” Warring wrote.
Defending the Congress leader, Warring said Rahul Gandhi remained much more than merely his party leader.
“Rahul Gandhi, is not just my leader – he is the leader of this country and the only man who ignites hope,” he said.
Warring then drew a distinction between loyalty and political opportunism, an apparent reference to Bittu’s decision to leave the Congress and join the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“I am not an opportunist, but a loyalist. I have stood with @RahulGandhi Ji in good times and bad – and will continue to do so,” Warring said.
He also reminded Bittu of his own long association with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress before his switch to the BJP.
“Don’t forget Rahul Ji did not just stand by me, but also by you, he trusted us and has given us all far more than we can ever acknowledge,” Warring added.
The exchange assumes significance because both Warring and Bittu have had long political associations with the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, although they now stand on opposite sides of the political divide.
ittu was a three-term Congress Lok Sabha MP before quitting the party and joining the BJP in March 2024. He had represented Anandpur Sahib in the Lok Sabha before winning twice from Ludhiana on the Congress ticket. After switching to the BJP, he contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Ludhiana but lost to Warring.
Their political rivalry intensified during that election, when Warring was fielded by the Congress from Ludhiana against Bittu. Warring had framed that contest as one between “vafadari” and “gaddari” — loyalty and betrayal — while attacking his former Congress colleague over his defection to the BJP.
The latest confrontation came on a day when Warring changed his X profile to identify himself as “Former PPCC President”, providing the clearest indication from his own side that his tenure as Punjab Congress chief had ended. Reports a day earlier had said that the Congress high command had decided to replace him following months of internal differences within the Punjab unit.
Warring’s response to Bittu, however, appeared designed to underline that losing the organisational position had not affected his loyalty either to Rahul Gandhi or to the Congress.
The reference to being a “loyalist” rather than an “opportunist” also gave the exchange a personal political dimension because of Bittu’s own journey from being a prominent Congress leader to joining the BJP.
The two leaders have repeatedly crossed swords since Bittu’s departure from the Congress, and their rivalry became particularly pronounced after Warring defeated him in Ludhiana in the 2024 parliamentary election.
The latest exchange is also notable for Warring’s unequivocal public backing of Rahul Gandhi immediately after his exit as PPCC chief. Instead of expressing resentment against the Congress leadership over the change, Warring used Bittu’s attack to publicly reaffirm his allegiance to Gandhi.
His message — that Rahul Gandhi had supported both him and Bittu and had given them opportunities during their political careers — was also a direct response to Bittu’s suggestion that Warring had fallen victim to a “use and throw” approach.
With the Congress yet to formally announce Warring’s successor as Punjab unit chief, the Bittu-Warring exchange has added another political dimension to a day dominated by developments surrounding the leadership change in the Punjab Congress.
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