DPM Gan to take on WP's Harpreet in battle for Punggol GRC

In a surprise move, DPM Gan will lead PAP team in what is now an election hot spot

- Ang Qing

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, in a surprise move, is leading the PAP against a WP team helmed by senior counsel Harpreet Singh for the new Punggol GRC.

Ending days of speculation leading up to Nomination Day on April 23, Mr Gan, 66, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, was confirmed as the anchor minister of the four-member PAP team.

Mr Gan, who had been expected to lead the PAP team in Chua Chu Kang, now joins Dr Janil Puthucheary, 52, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health; Ms Sun Xueling, 45, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development; and National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling, 48.

The switch was one of a series of surprises on April 23, and saw Manpower Minister Tan See Leng move from Marine Parade GRC to Chua Chu Kang GRC, taking over from Mr Gan.

Apart from Mr Singh, 59, who has been dubbed the WP's "star catch", the other members of his party's Punggol slate are new faces Ms Alexis Dang, 39, senior director of publisher business development at an advertising tech firm; Ms Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar, 43, legal counsel; and Mr Jackson Au, 35, senior manager of corporate affairs and marketing with the London Stock Exchange Group.

The WP pulled off a surprise by diverting its big names to Punggol and Tampines GRCs and not fielding a team for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, contrary to what some had expected.

In an interview, WP chief Pritam Singh, along with his team contesting Aljunied GRC, said they seek the "understanding and forbearance of residents" for not contesting Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC.

"It doesn't mean we are gone. We will continue our work there after the general election," he said.