Sources close to Bittu maintain he will likely secure another Rajya Sabha term from Rajasthan during the upcoming three-seat elections announced on Friday, and is expected to retain his position in the Union Cabinet.

A section within the BJP believes that he may also be entrusted with a larger organisational responsibility in Punjab as the party prepares to contest the upcoming assembly polls aggressively on its own strength.

A three-time Congress MP from Ludhiana before switching over to the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Bittu had unsuccessfully contested the Ludhiana parliamentary seat after joining the saffron party. Despite the defeat, the BJP leadership inducted him as a Union minister of state in Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government 3.0.

He was later elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan after being nominated to fill the vacancy created following the resignation of senior BJP leader Kirodi Lal Meena, who had stepped down after being elected to the Rajasthan assembly.

Bittu’s Rajya Sabha tenure is ending at a time when intense discussions are underway within the BJP regarding a possible Union cabinet reshuffle, the formation of the new national team under BJP national president Nitin Nabin and the appointment of a new Punjab BJP chief.

With the BJP leadership strongly considering appointing a Sikh face as the next Punjab BJP president, Bittu is being seen as one of the frontrunners for the post. The current state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar has already completed a significant tenure, and the party is understood to be exploring options to strengthen its outreach among Sikh voters. Jakhar is also said to be eying a Rajya Sabha seat and many leaders close to him said the veteran leader has also been promised the same.

A Jat Sikh leader, Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a terror attack in Chandigarh in 1995.

Many in the BJP believe that the Beant Singh legacy still carries substantial goodwill among a large section of Punjab’s Hindu population because of his government’s role in curbing militancy in the state during the 1990s. BJP strategists believe Bittu’s profile could help the party strike a political balance between Hindu and Sikh voters in Punjab.

Within the BJP, Bittu is considered among the party’s most vocal critics of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, particularly targeting the Delhi leadership of the party as well as CM Bhagwant Mann.

As Union minister of state for railways, Bittu has also been credited with pushing several long-pending railway projects in Punjab, including the Chandigarh-Rajpura rail link, the rail connectivity project for Talwandi Sabo and the Ferozepur-Patti rail link. Many of these projects had remained pending for decades despite announcements by successive governments.

Bittu is also considered close to Union home minister Amit Shah, who during campaigning for the Ludhiana Lok Sabha elections had publicly described him as his “personal friend”.

His political stature within the BJP further grew after a heated exchange with Congress leader and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during a protest outside Parliament, where Bittu had sharply attacked Gandhi and called him “desh ka gaddar”.

Bittu was not available for comment despite repeated attempts. However, during a recent press conference, he had said that he was ready to serve the party in any capacity assigned to him by the high command.