There appears to be an uncanny resemblance between former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh’s sporting and political careers — he somehow finds himself in a crucial role in the final moments of a showdown.On the hockey field, he would usually play full-back, but when his team was staring at defeat, he would push forward. This was on display in the 1985 Champions Trophy match against Germany, when he played a key role in India scoring four goals in the last few minutes to level a match in which it was trailing 5-1.In politics, too, Pargat’s debut came on similar lines. He was Punjab director, sports, when then deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal asked him to contest from the Jalandhar Cantonment assembly constituency in 2012. “He was not at all ready. I was texting him to say no, but Sukhbir’s word prevailed. Pargat resigned from govt service, we packed our bags from Chandigarh and landed straight in the poll battle,” said his wife Barinder Preet Kaur.He was pushed into the electoral battle around two weeks before polling and won, defeating Congress candidate Jagbir Brar, who had won as an SAD candidate in 2007, before switching to Manpreet Badal-led PPP and then Congress ahead of the 2012 polls.After his differences with the SAD leadership in 2016, Pargat and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, then the strongest Badal baiter, joined hands and, on Sept 2, 2016, floated Awaz E Punjab. Independent MLAs and brothers Balwinder Singh and Simarjit Singh Bains also became part of the outfit.Negotiations between the outfit and Aam Aadmi Party were underway when the Bains brothers left and joined AAP. Sidhu and Pargat joined Congress in Nov 2016. Despite a strong wind in favour of AAP at the time, Congress won the 2017 election. Sidhu became a minister, while Pargat retained his seat as MLA.When Sidhu conveyed his differences with then CM Capt Amarinder Singh through a prolonged silence, Pargat began flagging issues of performance without crossing the line of party discipline.In Sept 2021, Capt Amarinder was removed and Charanjit Singh Channi became chief minister. Pargat became education minister. However, AAP capitalised on the sentiment of badlav (change) and won the 2022 elections. Even as most Congress and SAD stalwarts lost their seats, Pargat retained Jalandhar Cantonment.For over four and a half years, factionalism marred Congress, while AAP and BJP, both with greater resources at their command, operated more cohesively.Now, Pargat gets the role of captaining Punjab Congress when the party’s challenges in the state go beyond factionalism. At the same time, a favourable result can help Congress nationally in the perception battle.Took air out of ‘primacy of Taksali leaders’ argumentWhen there was a churn in Punjab Congress in the middle of 2016, some functionaries strongly advocated that only “Taksali”, or veteran, leaders should be given prime positions, as Navjot Sidhu was expected to get an important role.In an interview with TOI in July 2016, Pargat said the “Taksali argument” had started only after talks about a reshuffle in the party leadership began.“Those furthering this argument actually have their own interests. We need Taksali Punjabis, for whom Punjab is first and foremost. Parties and govts need fresh thought processes and talent. How else can a party grow?” he argued.He cited Manmohan Singh as an example, pointing out that he was not even a member of Congress when he was made finance minister and ultimately remained Prime Minister for 10 years, leading the country in both roles. He also cited former chief minister Partap Singh Kairon, India’s longest-serving foreign affairs minister Swaran Singh, former Lok Sabha speaker Hukam Singh and former Punjab minister Umrao Singh, all of whom were originally Akalis.
