Former Minister Pargat Singh was on Friday (October 2, 2026) appointed as the Punjab Congress president, replacing Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring ahead of the Assembly elections due in 2027. The 61-year-old former captain of Indian men’s hockey team is a three-time MLA from the Jalandhar Cantonment.
Mr. Singh’s journey from the hockey turf to the helm of the Punjab Congress is one of the rare sports-to-politics transitions, putting the former Olympian at the forefront of State politics. Here’s a look at Pargat Singh’s journey from the sporting arena to political corridors, and why he replaced Mr. Warring as the Punjab Congress president.
Pargat Singh: Former Indian hockey captain
Pargat Singh was born in March 1965 in Mithapur in Punjab’s Jalandhar. Mr. Singh, who captained the national hockey team, represented India in the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
A full-back, Mr. Singh was widely known as one of India’s best defenders of his era in hockey. For his contributions to Indian hockey, he was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1989 and the Padma Shri in 1998.
After retiring from international hockey, Mr. Singh served as director of sport and Superintendent of Police in Punjab, before entering electoral politics.
Pargat Singh’s political journey
Mr. Singh’s political journey began with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) when he contested the 2012 Punjab Assembly elections on a SAD ticket from the Jalandhar Cantonment seat and defeated the Congress candidate by a margin of over 6,000 votes. However, Mr. Singh was suspended from the party in 2016.
Ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls, Mr. Singh joined Navjot Singh Sidhu’s front ‘Awaaz-e-Punjab.’ Later, both Mr. Singh and Mr. Sidhu joined the Congress. When Mr. Sidhu was made the president of the Punjab Congress, Mr. 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, Mr. Singh held important portfolios of education and sports.
Why Pargat Singh replaced Warring as Punjab Congress chief
The decision to replace Mr. 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.
Mr. 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.
Mr. Singh’s appointment is seen as a move to curb the ongoing power tussle in the Congress’ Punjab unit. The turf war, particularly between former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Mr. Warring, was on public display for the past several months.
Party sources said Mr. Singh’s appointment was driven largely by his clean, non-controversial image, which made him an acceptable choice across factions. By picking him, the party appears to have struck a balancing act, hoping he can bridge the divide between the two rival camps.
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.
Known for sharing his views on matters concerning Punjab, Mr. Pargat Singh has taken on the AAP government over various issues, including law and order, sports, education and issues related to his constituency.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – October 03, 2026 10:58 am IST
