Punjab | Fullback is the fallback

For a party that spent the summer at war with itself, the Punjab Congress had a neat start to October. Congratulations flowed to a new state chief—national hockey captain-turned-neta Pargat Singh—from all faction heads who were skipping each other’s events till the other day. Even the man Pargat replaced, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, teed off with textbook grace. But in Punjab, it was too good to last.

Upon handing in his papers to Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, Warring had said he was acting voluntarily. “No one asked me to resign—everyone has to become an ex someday.” But then came a mildly sour afternote: “I am not sure, but perhaps Sachin Pilot felt Raja should be removed.” Over days, the bile rose. At the ceremony to instal Pargat as chief, Warring said, “I only consider Rahul Gandhi my leader.” That came with another dig at the new state-in-charge. “It is possible that Pilot saab may cut my ticket next time.”

Soon, Warring was doing unto Pargat what others, especially former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, had been doing to him all year—skipping official dos, holding parallel huddles with loyalists on the same day. In short, after two exhausting rounds of central refereeing, first attempted by former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and then Pilot, it was back to square one.

Warring’s barbs express a duality that tugs at the heart of Congress politics here: Punjab’s wishes and Delhi’s firman. If anyone can discern either of through the burning stubble, that is. The local unit is in a state of permanent civil war: that has already cost the party leaders like Amarinder Singh, Ravneet Bittu and Sunil Jakhar. Of the stubble that’s left, Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Partap Bajwa are good at unity only against a common foe.

The central peacemakers, in turn, are battle-scarred but not necessarily victorious survivors of their own provincial battles. Their strike rate in Punjab is commensurately iffy; their turnover rate: high.

Baghel came in early 2025: he was to steer the ship till the 2027 election. But the heat on the farm got too much. A July armistice he brokered between Warring and Channi went in vain: one count put leaders who wanted Warring out at over 90. Result: Baghel had to move out. On September 5, Pilot came in.

EVERYONE PASSES TO HIM

Pilot’s soft diplomacy seemed to work, but not before a twist. Pargat was not first choice—Vijay Inder Singla was a hot tip till the end. But Warring reportedly argued against anyone close to Channi. That rang the coronation bell for the three-term Jalandhar Cantonment MLA, a Jat Sikh like Warring. The fullback was a fallback. Pargat played it gently, letting the hockey metaphors flow. “I’ve always played at the back. There are very good players in our team,” he said, promising a consensus approach. Warring had worked hard, he added. “Rajaji is a player of our team. The issue is Punjab.”

That’s understating it. Punjab’s Congress chiefs have rarely been left to run the party. Amarinder fought Bajwa, then Navjot Sidhu. Sidhu fought Channi, Randhawa, Bittu. Warring fought Channi. Now, Pargat fights Warring. Each time, chieftainship doubled as a claim on chief ministership. That question is wide open—Channi’s camp has unilaterally projected him. Delhi will be mindful of the 2022 rout under him, but also that he can’t be easily bypassed, nor his network ignored.

Now, there are Pargat’s own dribbling skills to consider: he’s an ex-Akali, who nimbly flitted across factions. A symmetry of sorts prevails now: BJP state chief Kewal Dhillon was a Congressman, so was AAP’s Aman Arora. Under an ex-Akali MLA, the Congress is retesting the conceptual and practical limits of loyalty. On October 14, in Mansa, after anti-drug crusader Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead, Pargat asked if punitive demolition was fair as bulldozers moved against the alleged assassin’s house. Channi, at his side, did not lend support when crowds hooted him down. By October 21, Pargat had found safer ground, attacking Amit Shah’s Punjab visit.