Pargat Singh, former India hockey captain, Olympian, outstanding sportsman and three-time MLA has been appointed as the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, in place of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who submitted his resignation on Friday.
Interestingly, the exit of Amarinder, five months ahead of the Assembly polls, like his more illustrious namesake before the 2022 elections, also coincides with the grand old party appointing a new captain, who is now expected to deliver at this crucial juncture.
This columnist had predicted on September 13th, after Sachin Pilot took over as the general secretary in-charge of the border state, replacing Bhupesh Baghel, that Raja Warring’s days as the president were numbered. Otherwise, there would have been no logic in changing the general secretary, if the president was also not simultaneously replaced, and if the Congress wished to end factionalism to move forward.
Pargat’s selection makes it evident that the Congress high command is seriously trying to put its act together, and appears to have made the correct choice, in order to bring the party back as the main challenger to the Aam Aadmi Party government. While it shall not be easy to wrest control of the state from Bhagwant Mann, who continues to enjoy the pole position, Pargat is viewed in Punjab politics as someone who is rooted to the ground, and does not belong to any faction of the party.
There was speculation till yesterday that Vijay Inder Singla, a close associate of Rahul Gandhi could take over the reins, but the high command decided to field a Jat Sikh as the spearhead, keeping in view his acceptability as also to neutralize the feud that had broken out between Raja Warring and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, whose supporters wished him to be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate, particularly because all other major players from each party happen to be Jat Sikhs.
Pargat is from the Doaba region and has won from Jallandhar Cantonment thrice, the first time as the Akali candidate in 2012 and twice as the Congress nominee, both in 2017 and 2022. Channi is also from the same area and thus would augment the efforts of the new chief in the campaign.
Majority of Chief Ministers in the past have been from the Malwa region, which has more than half of the 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly. However, Pargat’s extraordinary contributions as a national sportsman make him an acceptable face throughout. His selection also pre-empts the Majha Brigade’s attempts to sway the party politics in a manner which could have tilted the balance. Both Pratap Singh Bajwa, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, general secretary and Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur are from Majha and wield considerable influence with the high command.
However, with Sachin Pilot, a grassroots politician as the general secretary, the message is clear in Punjab that no factionalism would be allowed, and the primary objective has to be first face the polls, and give results. Leaders with very little to show in the state but enjoying central patronage shall now have to make way for all those who are working on the ground. While making up its mind on Pargat Singh, the high command also considered multiple names including those of Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Rana Gurjeet Singh. The final decision was taken in view of Pargat’s acceptability and his being least controversial. The former hockey captain also served as the state general secretary of the party when former India cricketer and opener Navjot Singh Sidhu was the PCC chief. Later, he was the Sports Minister in the Channi government, post the exit of Captain Amarinder Singh as the Chief Minister.
There is also intense speculation over the possible return of Captain Amarinder Singh to the Congress, though his family, particularly his wife, Preneet Kaur, former MP from Patiala and his daughter, are opposed to the idea, at this stage. There are also reports that some others who had left the Congress to join the BJP are also exploring the possibility of their ghar wapsi. The BJP on record is extremely confident of putting up a grand show in Punjab even if uncertainty remains on whether the saffron brigade would realign with its former ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The Akali Dal, which was a major force in the state, is on a shaky wicket as there is apprehension that the BJP could reach an understanding with Waris Punjab De, an outfit led by Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha MP, Amritpal Singh, and thus take away the Panthic vote, which has been at the core of the party’s strength.
The BJP is also actively wooing the more than two dozen Deras, and has the support of some of the prominent ones, though AAP claims that the majority of these influential groups were backing their candidates. The Bhagwant Mann government enjoys tremendous goodwill amongst the Dalits, and if the AAP is able to retain their vote, it would be very comfortably placed in the elections.
A section of the Congress and of the Akalis also are of the view that the two parties, traditional rivals, should reach a tacit agreement, if the BJP decides to go it alone or along with parties like Waris Punjab De.
This is unthinkable but the possibility cannot be firmly ruled out. However, Captain Pargat whose exploits in hockey are exceptional, has to show the same zeal in politics. Between us.
