CHNDIGARH: Pargat Singh's journey from the hockey turf to the helm of the Punjab Congress is one of the rare transitions from sports to politics, with the former Olympian and Indian hockey captain now at the forefront of state politics.
The 61-year-old three-time MLA from the Jalandhar Cantonment seat was on Friday appointed Punjab Congress president, replacing Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring ahead of the Assembly elections due early next year.
A Jat Sikh leader from Punjab's Doaba region, Singh's elevation comes after weeks of internal wrangling over the leadership of the state unit that threatened to hurt the party’s campaign for the assembly elections.
Though former Punjab minister Vijay Inder Singla, a Hindu face, was seen as the front-runner for the post of the Punjab Congress chief, the party high command eventually chose the sportsman-turned-politician as it seeks to take the feuding factions of the state unit along in the run-up to the 2027 polls.
Singh's political career, however, is only one part of a journey that began on the hockey field.
Born in March 1965 in Mithapur in Jalandhar, Singh, as a hockey player, represented India in the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He captained the national hockey team.
A full-back, Singh was widely known as one of India’s best defenders of his era in hockey. His contribution to Indian hockey earned him the Arjuna Award in 1989 and the Padma Shri in 1998.
After retiring from international hockey, Singh associated with sports administration, and he served as Director of Sport and Superintendent of Police in Punjab, before making the transition to electoral politics.
His political journey began with the Shiromani Akali Dal when he contested the 2012 Punjab assembly elections on a SAD ticket from the Jalandhar Cantonment seat. He defeated a Congress candidate by a margin of over 6,000 votes.
In 2016, Singh was suspended from the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, Singh became part of Navjot Singh Sidhu’s front ‘Awaaz-e-Punjab.’ Besides Sidhu, who is currently a Congress leader, and Singh, Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains were also part of it.
However, later, Singh along with Sidhu switched sides by joining the Congress. When Navjot Singh was made the president of the Punjab Congress, Singh was appointed as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary, organisation.
His electoral success continued in the 2017 assembly polls when he trounced Akali Dal’s Sarabjit Singh Makkar by over 29,000 votes.
The former Olympian retained his seat in the 2022 assembly poll when he defeated an AAP rival. He won the seat for the third time in a row even when the Congress was reduced to 18 seats in the 117-member assembly.
In the previous Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government, Singh held important portfolios of education and sports.
Known for sharing his views on matters concerning Punjab, Singh kept taking on the AAP government over various issues, including law and order, sports, education and issues related to his constituency.
On July 1, Singh was appointed as co-chairperson of the Congress’ manifesto committee for the 2027 assembly polls. At present, he is also the AICC secretary in charge of Jammu and Kashmir.
His elevation to the top post in Punjab also fits into the party's regional equations.
Partap Singh Bajwa, a Jat Sikh, is the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, while Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit face, is heading the party’s campaign committee. Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is also a Jat Sikh.
The decision to replace Warring as president of the Punjab unit of Congress came following organisational feedback taken by the party's general secretary in-charge of Punjab, Sachin Pilot, party sources said.
Pilot, who was appointed to the post replacing former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on September 5, held a series of meetings with state party leaders before submitting his report to the party high command to take a call on the leadership shake-up, they further said.