Ludhiana: BJP's Ravneet Bittu Detained as AAP Kicks Off 2027 Punjab Poll Drive
Ludhiana became the epicentre of Punjab politics on September 19 as BJP's Ravneet Bittu was detained after staging a protest near Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's cavalcade, on the same day that the Aam Aadmi Party chose the city to formally launch its campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Amid the political drama, the city also celebrated two positive milestones: the landing of the first commercial flight at Halwara International Airport's new terminal, and the opening of a new DMart outlet.
🗳️ Ravneet Bittu Detained After Staging Dramatic Protest Near CM Mann's Cavalcade
Former Union Minister and BJP MP Ravneet Bittu was detained by Ludhiana police on September 19 after staging a protest near Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's cavalcade. Reports across multiple news outlets — including ThePrint, The Tribune, Hindustan Times, News18, and India Today — described Bittu displaying a liquor bottle and eggs in what he framed as a symbolic protest against the AAP government's governance record in Punjab. Police took him into preventive custody to forestall any disruption to the Chief Minister's movement through the city. Bittu, grandson of slain Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, has been a vocal critic of the AAP administration and used the occasion of the ruling party's election rally in Ludhiana to escalate his protest. The BJP described his detention as an act of political suppression, while the AAP government maintained that the detention was a routine law-and-order measure. The confrontation drew wide coverage and overshadowed much of the day's political narrative in Punjab, illustrating the increasingly combative dynamic between the ruling AAP and its rivals in the run-up to the 2027 state elections. [1]
🗳️ AAP Launches 2027 Punjab Election Campaign from Ludhiana, Targets Congress and Akalis
The Aam Aadmi Party chose Ludhiana as the launchpad for its formal campaign ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, holding a rally on September 19 at which party leaders took aim at their principal rivals. The Tribune reported that AAP called the Congress party a 'sinking ship' and described the Shiromani Akali Dal's Badal family as 'baaj' — a Punjabi word for predatory hawks — framing the campaign as a contest between AAP's governance record and its opponents' perceived failures. The Ludhiana launch reflects the city's symbolic importance as Punjab's largest urban centre and a bellwether constituency. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's visit served a dual purpose: attending the party's inaugural rally and reinforcing the government's claims of developmental progress in the region. Senior AAP leaders argued that the party's first full term in government has delivered on promises of health, education, and anti-corruption measures. The opposition rejected those claims, and Ravneet Bittu's protest the same day underscored the contested nature of the AAP narrative heading into the next election cycle. [5]
🏢 First Commercial Flight Touches Down at Ludhiana's New Halwara Terminal
A landmark moment in Punjab's aviation history arrived with the landing of the first commercial passenger flight at the new terminal of Halwara International Airport in Ludhiana. News on AIR, the government broadcaster, confirmed the development, which marks the culmination of years of work to give Punjab's industrial capital a modern airport facility capable of handling scheduled commercial traffic. Ludhiana is home to a large concentration of textile and manufacturing businesses as well as a substantial non-resident Indian community, and improved air connectivity has long been considered essential to the city's economic ambitions. The new Halwara terminal is expected to reduce dependence on Chandigarh and Amritsar airports, both of which lie at a significant distance from Ludhiana's city centre. The inaugural commercial flight is expected to trigger the launch of additional routes and is widely seen as a catalyst for increased business travel and potential tourism investments in the region. Civic groups and business bodies in Ludhiana celebrated the milestone as a long-overdue boost to the city's connectivity and economic profile. [8]
🏢 DMart Opens 511th Store on Ludhiana's Sua Road
Avenue Supermarts, the operator of the DMart retail chain, opened a new outlet at Sua Road in Ludhiana on September 19, 2026, bringing the company's nationwide store count to 511. The financial platform Sahi reported the expansion as part of the company's steady post-Q1 FY27 network growth strategy. DMart has maintained a conservative, owned-property model that distinguishes it from competitors who lease retail space, and the Ludhiana addition reflects continued confidence in tier-one Punjab cities as sustainable retail markets. Ludhiana's large middle-class population, its density of salaried professionals in textiles and allied industries, and its strong base of NRI remittance-supported households make it an attractive catchment area for value-oriented grocery and household goods retail. The new store is expected to draw shoppers from both Sua Road and broader Ludhiana South, where organized retail options remain more limited than in the city's western and central neighbourhoods. For DMart, the Punjab expansion underscores a deliberate geographic diversification beyond its strongholds in Maharashtra and Gujarat. [9]
Sources: [1] ThePrint · [5] The Tribune · [8] News On AIR · [9] Sahi