New Delhi: In a state where the Congress has increasingly been dealing with factionalism ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, the party has appointed Pargat Singh as its new Punjab Congress chief. Singh, a former state sports minister and captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, replaces Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president.
A three-time MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment, Pargat entered electoral politics with the Shiromani Akali Dal in 2012 and won the seat. But his relationship with the party leadership deteriorated over the next few years, leading to his suspension in 2016.
He subsequently resigned from the SAD, and briefly joined hands with Navjot Singh Sidhu and the Bains brothers to form Awaaz-e-Punjab. The front did not last long, after which Pargat moved to Congress ahead of the 2017 Assembly election. He won Jalandhar Cantonment again by defeating SAD’s Sarabjit Singh Makkar by 29,124 votes.
Pargat’s time in Congress has also been marked by his willingness to question the party leadership while remaining within the organisation.
He was among the Congress leaders who raised questions about the functioning of the Amarinder Singh government. In 2021, when Navjot Singh Sidhu was Punjab Congress chief, Pargat was appointed general secretary in charge of organisation.
He then joined the cabinet of then chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, handling school education, higher education, sports and youth affairs, and NRI affairs. His ministerial stint lasted around six months and ended with the Congress losing the 2022 Assembly election to the Aam Aadmi Party.
Pargat still retained Jalandhar Cantonment in that election though, defeating former hockey player and AAP candidate Surinder Singh Sodhi by 5,808 votes. It was his third consecutive victory from the constituency, although his margin was considerably lower than the 29,124 votes by which he had won in 2017.
Pargat remained active in the Congress after the party’s defeat, taking on the AAP government over issues including drugs, law and order and education. He was later appointed an AICC secretary attached to Jammu and Kashmir. Before becoming Punjab Congress chief, he was also made co-chairperson of the party’s manifesto committee for the 2027 Assembly election.
His elevation comes after a long leadership tussle in the Punjab Congress. The party had been dealing with differences between camps led by Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, with other senior leaders such as Partap Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also having their own political bases and aspirations which, many believed, were hurting the party’s chances of winning the election.
Pargat’s appointment puts a Jat Sikh at the head of the state unit without choosing one of the leaders already seen as a contender for the chief minister’s post. He does not lead any of the major factions in the Punjab Congress.
The high command had also discussed names such as Vijay Inder Singla, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi before choosing Pargat.
Ashutosh Singh, a professor at Panjab University and political analyst, said the Congress had limited options while choosing the new state chief.
“Pargat Singh is more of a stop-gap arrangement. Congress did not have too many options. They could not bring in Charanjit Singh Channi because that would have amounted to projecting him as the chief ministerial candidate. If they had brought in Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, there would also have been questions about his loyalties because he had sided with Channi and openly challenged the high command,” he told ThePrint.
“Pargat is a Jat Sikh, and the party needed a Jat Sikh face. He does not have corruption allegations against him and he is a sporting hero who is known across Punjab. He has also shown that he can take a stand. He questioned Sukhbir Singh Badal when he was in the Akali Dal and later questioned the Amarinder Singh government from within Congress. Given the circumstances, I think Pargat Singh was a good choice for the Congress,” he added.
Pargat was already a familiar name in Punjab before entering politics. He represented India at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics and captained the team at the Barcelona and Atlanta Games. He was also India’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and received the Arjuna Award in 1989 and the Padma Shri in 1998. After his playing career, he served in the Punjab Police and later worked in sports administration.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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