Power dressing: Navjot Singh Sidhu’s shawl statement adds colour to Punjab election

CHANDIGARH: This Punjab election, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu is hitting the spotlight with a splash of colours.

He is pulling off in style a variety of shawls and scarfs in a bold colour palette while most other leaders in the state stick to the trademark white kurta-pyjamas with black Nehru jackets.

Sidhu told TOI that it is his penchant for colours that makes the shawls stand out. “These shawls are not that expensive – mostly priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. But when these fine colours are coordinated well with the attire, it looks like a million dollars. I coordinate them with my turbans and sometimes with the fifty underneath them. I don’t like the shawls in bland colours, and they are also difficult to coordinate.”

“When I want to unwind, I walk into a mall to match my turbans, jackets with the clothing. Sometimes my daughter orders stuff for me online. Then I keep changing and reinventing,” he added.

Sidhu’s new wardrobe has shawls of all hues – a bright ink-blue shawl to pose with Rahul Gandhi, maroon one to meet bowler Harbhajan Mann, a shawl with tussar base colour to induct actor Sonu Sood’s sister, Malvika, into Congress. He even made a fuchsia pink shawl look like a man's colour while posing with a group of artistes. Some of his shawls stand out for their heavy sozni embroidery as he matches them with his turban.

Amid the Election Commission’s ban on rallies due to Covid, Sidhu has been busy holding back to back media interactions to talk about his ‘

Punjab Model

’ agenda. At all such events, he lets his shawls and scarves do the talking.

Before his fixation for shawls, Sidhu often dressed himself in well-stitched suits. But the penchant for vibrant colours was as apparent with bright neckties and turbans. On the occasion of opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor in 2019, Sidhu chose a blue suit with yellow necktie and turban. He said he had lost several kilos to fit into the suit that dated back to his days of TV shows on cricket. “I have over 400 to 500 suits as television is a visual medium. Speaking has more influence than writing and one’s appearance has more influence than the spoken word,” said Sidhu.

Political strategist

Satish Singh

, who has planned campaigns of some Punjab leaders, believes that there is growing acceptability of politicians dressed in non-whites in the urban centres of the state. “It depends on the demographics and religion of the constituency. While the politician is expected to stand out in rural areas in kurta-pyjama, he would rather dress in shirt and trousers to interact with common people at a tea stall. That is why it is usually a case of mixed wardrobe for most urban leaders these days and many prefer coloured kurta-pyjamas,” he said.

In December last year, Sidhu had to even offer an apology on Twitter for wearing a shawl having symbols of Sikhism made on it after Akal Takht took note of it.


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