Call it a coincidence or the revolving door of politics. With former hockey Olympian Pargat Singh’s getting the top job at Punjab Congress in the lead-up to assembly polls, three of the state’s four key parties are now led by turncoats. Pargat cut his political teeth with SAD and was elected as its MLA, before he switched to the Congress. Kewal Dhillon, who heads the BJP, has had a long inning in the Congress before turning saffron in 2022. Aam Aadmi Party’s president-senior minister Aman Arora was with the Congress before he jumped onto the AAP bandwagon. Another happenstance for the Congress is that it will be contesting its second consecutive assembly polls under a sports star-turned-politician: in 2022, ex-cricketer Navjot Sidhu was at the helm of party when it lost power to AAP. Can Pargat lead the party to the victory pedestal in polls? It’s the biggest toss-up for one-time rock-solid defender of the Indian hockey.
A lunch plan & shifting venues
When Union home minister Amit Shah came to Jalandhar on Wednesday to address a BJP rally, the venue for his lunch was changed twice after the event timing was advanced by half an hour. Initially, the BJP planned to host Shah at hotelier Gautam Kapoor’s residence, but the venue was changed after it failed to get security clearance. A BJP leader said the party shifted the arrangements to the green room at the rally site before finally moving them to the party state vice-president and former Mayor Rakesh Rathore’s sprawling two-acre farmhouse.
Ticket dreams
BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh was left red-faced when he, at a meeting of office-bearers from Punjab in Panchkula, asked the district presidents interested in contesting the next assembly polls to raise their hands. Of the 36 district presidents, all except five raised their hands, signalling their interest. Everyone looked at one another when Santosh asked who would take charge of the organisation if they were to contest the polls. Santosh had already signalled the party leaders that district presidents would not be preferred as candidates for assembly polls.
When AAP kept mum
{{/usCountry}}When AAP kept mum
{{/usCountry}}The rank and file of the Aam Aadmi Party, usually hyper-responsive on social media to every happening in Punjab, maintained complete silence over the volatile situation at Lovely Professional University on September 26. There was also no response from senior state functionaries, including education minister Harjot Singh Bains. It was only the following day that a message was circulated to the media that chief minister Bhagwant Mann has ordered strict action and directed the state DGP to visit the spot.
Pargat’s lucky charms
For newly appointed Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh, his grandsons seem to have arrived with impeccable political timing. His wife, Barinder Preet Kaur, recently pointed out a curious family coincidence: the birth of their first grandson, Teg, coincided with Pargat’s first electoral victory as an MLA. Now, the arrival of second grandson has coincided with his appointment as Punjab Congress president. Two grandsons, two major political milestones —and double celebrations for the family. Whether it is luck, destiny or simply perfect timing, the family clearly considers the little ones’ auspicious additions to Pargat’ political journey.
Mann & his movie love
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann recently shared an anecdote from his childhood while addressing a gathering at a private function in Ludhiana. Recalling their fascination with movies, Mann said children would often visit homes that rented VCRs to watch films for free. However, there was a catch—they first had to sit through family wedding videos. He recalled one such occasion when women in the household began crying after seeing a relative in an old wedding recording who had since passed away. The mood turned sombre, and the children, eagerly waiting for the movie, were asked to leave.
PM’s online engagement lessons for Haryana lawmakers
In a meeting on completion of two years of the Nayab Singh Saini government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Haryana ministers and MLAs the mantra to get social and stay connected. He asked them to sharpen their social-media game for a stronger digital connect with voters. The PM’s staff shared individual social-media tracking sheets with MLAs, suggesting ways to improve online engagement. The catch: Modi advised them against turning their handles into publicity boards for government schemes. They were also told to highlight their own work and social initiatives, spend more time among people, listen to their problems and stay accessible.
Wait for Arun Gupta’s successor stretches
Following the retirement of Haryana IAS officer Arun Gupta who served as principal secretary to CM (PSCM), speculations are rife regarding his successor. Names of a 1997 and 2003 batch officer are doing the rounds in the bureaucratic circles with little clarity on who will be chosen. Last week, reallocation of departments was undertaken in the CM’s office with departments held by the outgoing PSCM being allocated to other officers indicating it could take some time for selecting Gupta’s successor.
Winds of change in Kashmir
For nearly three decades, Kashmir’s politics has broadly had two distinct political camps - mainstream and separatist, whose leaders used to keep their distance from each other. Now, the equation seems to be changing. Leaders, earlier known for their separatist views, are increasingly sharing public space with mainstream politicians. Recently, former Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was seen with former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and even solemnised the nikah of senior Democratic Progressive Azad Party leader Salman Nizami. He was also seen with former minister Imran Ansari at a wedding. The pictures went viral, signalling a growing willingness to maintain social ties.
Sukhu’s 2 nights in remote hamlets
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” – a proverb that was taken seriously by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during his recent ‘Sarkar Gaon Ke Dwar’ programme, when he spent two nights in remote villages of Shimla district. From wearing traditional dresses and singing traditional songs in local dialects to being honoured with silver crown and enjoying local delicacies, Sukhu made every effort to connect with the locals. Before Sukhu, Congress stalwart late Virbhadra Singh had visited these villages while serving as chief minister.
A chai-pakoda break & a stroll down memory lane
Leader of opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur revived old memories over tea and bread pakodas at a bus stand after a cleanliness drive on October 2. Thakur visited a shop at the bus stand, where he enjoyed tea and the snack with party workers that was prepared by “Crorepati Chaiwala” Sanjay Sood, who contested as BJP’s candidate for the Shimla Urban seat in 2022. Sood, who ran a tea stall at the old bus stand for years, had declared assets worth ₹2.7 crore jointly with his wife at the time.
A ride with guv
The Mall Road in Shimla recently witnessed an unusual political picture that went beyond protocol and political courtesy. After paying floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue on The Ridge on Gandhi Jayanti, governor Kavinder Gupta surprised onlookers by inviting LoP Jai Ram Thakur, former Congress chief Pratibha Singh and deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri into his official car. The four travelled together from The Ridge to the statue of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri near the CTO. Though the Congress and BJP were back to taking digs at each other over policy issues soon after, the brief ride stood out for camaraderie.
(Contributed by Vishal Rambani, Navrajdeep Singh, Ravinder Vasudeva, Hillary Victor, Tarsem Singh Deogan, Neeraj Mohan, Hitender Rao, Mir Ehsan, Shailee Dogra)