Hours after being appointed the new president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Pargat Singh (61) on Saturday said he would lead the state Congress to win the 2027 Assembly elections, drawing on his experience of twice captaining the Indian hockey team.
In an exclusive interaction with The Tribune, the former Olympian and Jalandhar Cantt MLA said he knew his job was to steer the team and take everyone along.
“I know the meaning of team effort and would do my best to take everyone along,” he said.
Asked about the challenges before him and the task of reining in factionalism within the state unit, Pargat said he would work with everyone.
In a strategic shift, Rahul Gandhi has chosen Pargat, a relatively recent entrant to the Congress, over senior leaders such as Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Partap Singh Bajwa and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria for the top post in the state unit.
Pargat joined the Congress in December 2016, shortly before the 2017 Assembly elections, along with Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Camping in Delhi, the former Sports and Education Minister thanked the party high command for assigning him the responsibility.
“I will work with complete dedication and commitment to strengthen the Congress in Punjab and serve the people of our state,” he said in a post on X.
Pargat is scheduled to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi today. He will also attend a meeting of state unit presidents and general secretaries in charge on Monday before travelling to Amritsar to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple along with his colleagues.
Political analysts said the new assignment would bring a larger political challenge for Pargat. With around 100 days left before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force, he will have to reorganise the state unit, bridge differences among senior leaders and build a cohesive party organisation ahead of the Assembly elections.
His appointment has reportedly not gone down well with certain leaders in the camp of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who were expecting a leader from their camp to be appointed PPCC president.
“They have no alternative but to join hands with Pargat, as general secretary in charge Bhupesh Baghel and PPCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring have been changed on their insistence,” a senior party leader said.
