Chandigarh: Hockey legend Pargat Singh, who led India in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics before switching to political turf, will captain Punjab Congress into the 2027 assembly election barely four months away.The Congress central leadership on Friday appointed Pargat, 61, as Punjab Pradesh Congress president, deciding to retain a Jat Sikh at the helm. The announcement came within hours of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring officially handing in resignation to Rahul Gandhi.Both Warring and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi — whose supporters had raised the banner of revolt against Warring – congratulated Pargat.Struggling to contain factionalism, Congress leadership has picked a face considered acceptable by both sides. Although Pargat was seen with the Channi camp during the full-blown crisis in July-August after Congress leadership decided to retain Warring as party chief, Pargat had sought to build consensus within the group in favour of opening direct talks with the high command and then Punjab affairs in charge Bhupesh Baghel. His position — that the party was witnessing differences of opinion rather than a division — was publicly endorsed by other senior functionaries.A three-time MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment, Pargat is a former minister, a Padma Shri and an Arjuna Award recipient. He will have to bring all his leadership and organisational skills to bear to unite and lead Congress into the polls.The Congress leadership chose Pargat over former minister Vijay Inder Singla and former Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh. Singla appears to have lost out as sections of the party’s senior Sikh leadership demanded “continuity”, say sources. Both Warring and Pargat are Jat Sikhs.Jat Sikh politics has always been a significant factor in Punjab. Most CMs here have been Jat Sikhs, as is AAP’s Bhagwant Mann. BJP state chief, Kewal Singh Dhillon, is also from the same community.Pargat’s appointment follows an organisational assessment carried out by newly appointed Punjab Congress in charge Sachin Pilot after meeting senior functionaries all through September.Warring appeared to question Pilot earlier in the day, saying he had only met him once to welcome him to Punjab, and that the new Punjab in charge had not spoken to him about “who to appoint or remove”.“I have been in politics for a long time. I have come up from the grassroots and worked from the block level. I feel that Sachin Pilot may have thought that Raja should be removed. I do not have any concrete evidence for this,” Warring said after meeting Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.Pargat has his work cut out. His experience in both govt and the party organisation will come into play. He is a former PPCC general secretary, organisation, and is currently an AICC secretary in charge of Jammu & Kashmir, having earlier been assigned responsibility for Uttarakhand. His popularity in his constituency can be gauged from the fact that he retained his seat in 2022 despite an AAP wave that swept up 92 of Punjab’s 117 assembly seats.In the 1985 Champions Trophy in Perth, India were 1-5 down against Germany when Pargat blazed in and slammed four goals in just six minutes. Congress hopes he can bring the same magic to the electoral turf.
