Twenty-three members – the youngest six months, the eldest in mid-60s - of three generations of the Mittal family stay under one roof in a five decade-old, triple-storey house spread over 2,500-odd sq m in Jalandhar Cantt’s Sadar Bazaar area. Now, this famous city address has added a new feather to its cap: a Rajya Sabha MP. Days from now, Ashok Mittal, the founder of Lovely Professional University and scion of a family that has grown from one sweet shop to one of Punjab's biggest business houses, will take oath for the Upper House as a nominee of the Aam Aadmi Party. 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ There is much buzz in the Mittal household about attending the ceremony. Sister-in-law Madhu, the wife of the eldest Mittal brother Ramesh, says the first thing they did on hearing the news was pay their respects at the busts of the Mittal patriarch and matriarch, put up on the university premises, followed by a celebratory dinner. “It’s because of our parents' blessings that the family continues to live together happily,” she says. The excitement runs from the eldest to the youngest, the fourth generation of Mittals, such as Amaira, 11, the granddaughter of Ramesh. Laughs her father Aman: “She said, 'Tell daadu (grandpa) that he must come to my boarding school to meet me, and tell the school that they should let children meet their papa and mummy'.” Ashok is the youngest of the three Mittal brothers, and the only one of them to do graduation and acquire a professional (LLB) degree. Ashok's wife Rashmi is the pro-chancellor of Lovely Professional University. The Lovely Group was started by their late father Baldev Raj Mittal. Ramesh says the family originally hails from Kotputli area in Jaipur. “Our father used to work for an Army contractor, and moved with him place to place for work. Once he came to Jalandhar, and decided to settle here permanently. He took a loan of Rs 500 from the contractor to start a sweet shop in Jalandhar Cantt in 1961." It was called just 'Sweet House' initially, says Aman. “For inauguration, our grandfather called the then brigadier, who said ‘Sweet House’ was too common, and that we must have a brand. Our grandfather requested him to think of one, and the brigadier said had a granddaughter called Lovely who was very dear to him. There and then, our grandfather announced that the name of the shop would be 'Lovely Sweet House'. All our enterprises are named after that little girl, who has proven so lovely and lucky for us." The shop gained almost instant following among the Army personnel, especially for its ‘Motichoor ke laddoos'. The middle Mittal brother Naresh says they have sent truckloads of sweets for distribution to units on demand by soldiers who are loyal customers, and claims that their outlet would become the city's first air-conditioned sweet shop. Ashok recalls seeing the business through a rocky period in the 1970s. “Some of our key people ditched us. Often the family did not have enough money for even basic needs. Our elder brother (Ramesh) left studies to help our father. I recall him getting up at 5 am, going to Amritsar by train to fetch khoya (condensed milk) for the sweets, and then toiling alongside workers at the shop till midnight,” says Ashok, adding that it was their hard work and commitment to quality that saw them through that time. In 1986, the family started its second sweet shop, in Jalandhar City, which is now spread over five storeys, and includes a Lovely Bake Studio. In 1991, the Mittal brothers started Lovely Autos, now one of the leading auto dealers in North India. In late 1990s, the Punjab government started the first technical university of the state, Punjab Technical University (PTU). At the time, several business houses wanted to diversify into education, and get associated with it. When the association with Lovely Group proved successful, the brothers decided to start their own university. Lovely Professional University would be Punjab's first private university and is now among the largest such in the country, spread over a 600-acre campus, with around 35,000 students and over 3,000 staff members, including faculty. Among those who have been guests at its events include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the late Pranab Mukherjee. While the Mittals have been careful to maintain political neutrality, they have been known for their proximity to BJP Hoshiarpur MP and current Union Minister of State for Commerce Som Prakash. The AAP nomination for Ashok had come as a surprise as they were not known to have any links with the party. Som Prakash refused to talk about Ashok, saying he didn't want to dwell on an individual. “There are several things to talk about in Punjab. Why talk about any individual and his post?” Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira questioned AAP's decision, asking whether a lightweight MP “with no political backing” could take on the BJP. “Instead of sending its hardworking leaders, AAP gave the Rajya Sabha seat to a moneybag. This is like cheating the state as he will never be able to speak on Chandigarh or other Punjab issues. AAP has just sold the seat to a businessman who wants it to enhance his status.” Balwinder Kumar, a BSP-Akali Dal candidate in the recent Assembly elections, said the seat to Mittal was meant to bolster Arvind Kejriwal's base in his community in Punjab “so that they can help him both financially and in his ambitions at the centre”. “Kejriwal is seeing his personal benefit, not the state’s.” Ashok says he sees this new phase of life for the Mittal family as a way of “paying people back for all the love they have given”. “Whatever we are today is because of our customers. I always wanted to do something for the state, and the nomination to Parliament provides a perfect opportunity.”
