Pargat Singh takes charge as Punjab Congress chief ahead of 2027 polls
Former Indian hockey captain and three-time Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh has replaced Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab Congress president. The appointment follows organisational consultations led by Sachin Pilot and is being viewed by party sources as an attempt to ease factional tensions within the State unit.
Former Minister Pargat Singh has been appointed president of the Punjab Congress, replacing Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring ahead of the Assembly election scheduled for 2027. The 61-year-old legislator represents Jalandhar Cantonment, a seat he has won three consecutive times. Party sources said the decision followed organisational feedback gathered by Congress general secretary in-charge of Punjab Sachin Pilot.
Mr. Pilot, who assumed the Punjab charge on September 5, held meetings with leaders across the State before submitting a report to the party high command. His consultations preceded the leadership change, according to the source material.
Mr. Singh entered politics after a prominent hockey career. Born in Mithapur, Jalandhar, in March 1965, he captained the Indian men’s hockey team and represented the country at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
He received the Arjuna Award in 1989 and the Padma Shri in 1998. After retiring from international hockey, he served as Punjab’s director of sport and as a Superintendent of Police. He began his electoral career with the Shiromani Akali Dal, winning Jalandhar Cantonment in 2012 by more than 6,000 votes.
He was suspended by the party in 2016. He later joined Navjot Singh Sidhu’s Awaaz-e-Punjab front before entering the Congress. He won the constituency again in 2017, defeating Akali candidate Sarabjit Singh Makkar by more than 29,000 votes, and retained it in 2022 against an AAP rival.
Party sources described Mr. Singh as a clean and non-controversial figure who could be acceptable to competing factions. The appointment comes amid a public power struggle involving former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Mr.
Warring. Mr. Singh previously held the education and sports portfolios in the Channi government and has criticised the AAP government on law and order, sports and education.
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