All India Congress Committee joint treasurer and former Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur Vijay Inder Singla is emerging as the likely frontrunner to replace Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who has put in his papers.Warring, the Ludhiana Lok Sabha MP, changed his X bio today to call himself former Punjab Pradesh Congress president.Although the Congress is yet to make the name of Warring’s replacement official, The Tribune has learnt that Singla was earlier too the favourite to replace Warring but the move was stalled on account of dissent by senior Sikh leaders of the state.The almost final proposal which had both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s approval at the time was shelved to avoid further friction in the state unit ahead of the 2027 Assembly poll.The party has now revived the idea to place a Hindu leader at the helm of state presidency.The newly appointed Congress general secretary for Punjab, Sachin Pilot, who replaced Bhupesh Baghel, had in a recent exclusive interview with The Tribune, signalled that Warring’s replacement was not ruled out.Insiders today said bringing a Hindu face as a leader, besides being a politically crucial move, would also serve to placate Jat Sikh aspirants for the post of chief ministership in Punjab.“A Hindu being appointed as the state Congress chief would give a signal that the position of CM is open for any Sikh leader in a positive post-election scenario. The CM-ship will obviously be reserved for a Sikh leader as per historical convention in Punjab which is a Sikh majority state,” said a source though there is no official word yet on the matter.Politically, Congress sources say it made sense to elevate Singla, a Hindu and former Sangrur Lok Sabha MP, who represents Malwa, politically the most crucial belt of Punjab with 69 Assembly seats of the 117.Most other leaders in contention for the state chief’s post are from Doaba or Majha.The Congress may adopt the Kerala strategy in Punjab by giving the reins to state leaders and asking Lok Sabha MPs to drive the campaign from behind.Punjab Lok Sabha MPs, like Kerala Lok Sabha MPs, are unlikely to be asked to contest the Assembly poll because the party cannot afford to lose even a single Lok Sabha seat with the ruling NDA drafting several Constitution amendment agendas, including women’s reservation-delimitation and the one nation, one election Bills.Warring, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Gurjeet Aujla, other leading aspirants for the top job in Punjab, are all sitting Lok Sabha MPs.State leaders Partap Singh Bajwa, Pargat Singh and Sukh Sarkaria are also said to be on the radar but Singla, insiders say, has an edge right now.Singla is not an MP and is a former state minister.He enjoys the complete confidence of Rahul Gandhi.Singla is a member of the Congress Working Committee, a joint treasurer, AICC, and also in-charge of all assets and properties of the AICC, a very sensitive post which shows the Gandhis’ trust him.