"One Family One Ticket" Row Grows As BJP's Ravneet Bittu Targets Congress

The Congress's "One family, one ticket" policy has come under fresh attack, with BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravneet Bittu taking sides. Bittu has backed senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa's argument that electoral ability, rather than family ties, should determine ticket distribution.

The issue has intensified the ongoing political tussle between Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Randhawa. 

Warring has argued in favour of the party's "One family, one ticket" formula, maintaining the Congress should not give two tickets to members of the same family.

Randhawa, however, has argued in favour of flexibility, saying if a family has four capable candidates who can win, there is no reason why the Congress cannot give all four of them tickets.

Now, Bittu has seized on Randhawa's argument to target the Congress.

Bittu has questioned if the three members of the Gandhi family can get election tickets, why not another family which has four candidates capable of winning?

His intervention has added a new political dimension to what was initially an internal Congress disagreement. 

The controversy has also exposed a wider contradiction within the Congress. On one side, the party has promoted the idea of limiting multiple tickets within the same family as part of its organisational reforms, an effort to counter allegations of dynastic politics. On the other, senior leaders such as Randhawa argue that a blanket restriction could prevent strong and winnable candidates from contesting.

The sharp exchange comes at a crucial time for Punjab Congress, with the 2027 assembly elections approaching. Candidate selection and ticket distribution are likely to become major issues within the party, particularly as different leaders attempt to strengthen their respective camps.

The debate has moved beyond an internal Congress policy discussion. It has now become another political weapon for the BJP, while exposing the growing differences between Warring and Randhawa ahead of the elections.