The Indian National Congress has appointed former Indian hockey captain and Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh as the new Punjab Congress chief.

The appointment was announced on October 2 through an official order issued by AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal and took effect immediately. Pargat Singh succeeds Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who had led the Punjab Congress since April 2022.

The change comes less than a year before Punjab is scheduled to hold its next Assembly election in 2027, placing the state Congress organisation under new leadership at a crucial stage of its preparations.

Warring met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday and formally submitted his resignation as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president.

His departure followed months of reported disagreements within the Punjab Congress. Reports have described differences between various leadership groups over the direction of the state unit and its leadership.

Warring said he had discussed the situation in Punjab and the party's strengths and challenges during his meeting with Gandhi. He also indicated that he believed newly appointed Punjab Congress in-charge Sachin Pilot may have favoured a leadership change, while acknowledging that he did not have concrete proof of that.

The Congress, in its official announcement, acknowledged Warring's contribution as outgoing state president.

Pargat Singh, 61, is a former Indian hockey captain and Olympian who later entered electoral politics.

He represented India at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and received the Arjuna Award in 1989 and the Padma Shri in 1998. He also served in Punjab's sports administration and was appointed India's national hockey coach in 1998.

Singh entered electoral politics with the Shiromani Akali Dal and won the Jalandhar Cantonment Assembly seat in 2012. He later joined the Congress in 2016 and retained the constituency in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections.

He served as a cabinet minister in the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Punjab government from 2021 to 2022, handling portfolios including education and sports.

Pargat Singh's appointment comes as political parties in Punjab prepare for the 2027 Assembly elections.

As state Congress president, he will be responsible for coordinating the party's organisation across Punjab, working with senior leaders and overseeing preparations for the upcoming electoral contest.

Reports have described the appointment as coming against the backdrop of factional differences within the Punjab Congress. The party's leadership had previously undertaken consultations with state leaders, with Sachin Pilot playing a role in the organisational review before the change.

The Congress has also said that its existing working presidents and the chairpersons and co-chairpersons of various election-related committees in Punjab will continue in their positions.

Pargat Singh now takes charge of the Punjab Congress as the party begins its preparations for the 2027 election.

His political background combines a long association with Punjab electoral politics and an earlier career as one of India's prominent hockey players.

The immediate focus for the new state president will be organisational coordination, preparation for the Assembly election and managing the Congress's state-level leadership structure ahead of the electoral campaign.

For Punjab politics, the leadership change marks the end of Warring's tenure and the beginning of Pargat Singh's term as PPCC president.