From Near Miss to Momentum: Harpreet Singh Sets His Sights on 2026

In a constituency long assumed to be safe terrain for Singapore’s ruling party, the Workers’ Party’s debutants in Punggol GRC came surprisingly close to unsettling a heavyweight PAP slate fronted by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong—the steady technocrat best known for steering the country’s pandemic task force. Harpreet Singh, the senior counsel turned opposition hopeful, walked away with 44.83% of the vote and something rarer: momentum. In a reflective note to the 51,663 residents who backed him, he pledged perseverance and more pavement-pounding ahead, while supporters—encouraged by the near-miss—spoke less of defeat than of inevitability, casting 2026 not as a rematch, but as a reckoning.

The team, which was made up of Senior Counsel Mr Singh, legal counsel Siti Alia Mattar, business development professional Alexis Dang, and communications practitioner Jackson Au, won 44.83% of the vote, making Punggol one of the most closely watched GRCs in the May 3 poll.

It was a very respectable showing for an all-newbie slate that was up against a team from the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) headed by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Gan Kim Yong and which also included the popular Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development, Sun Xueling.

Mr Singh, 59, wrote, “51,663 – that’s the number of Punggol voters who chose the Workers’ Party in this year’s GE. That’s almost enough people to fill the National Stadium!

Alia, Alexis, Jackson, and I did not want this year to pass without thanking all of you Punggol voters, and our amazing team of volunteers, for your incredible support.”

He added that he recently told WP’s volunteers at Punggol that “change does not happen automatically. It happens when ordinary people like all of us choose to step forward and make it happen.

Any journey to bring change will involve ups and downs, and even some dark seasons. That’s life. But we can take hope in the fact, as history shows us, that with perseverance and commitment over time, change happens.”

He ended his post on a positive note, stating that the work on the ground in Punggol will go on, and thanking those who have joined the WP team on its journey.

“See you in 2026!” he wrote.

Many commenters on Mr Singh’s post encouraged him and the team, saying they believe the WP will eventually emerge victorious at Punggol.

“Please continue to walk the ground, I hope (to see) your team in Parliament after the next GE,” wrote one.

“Last GE was tremendously close, even though it was WP’s first attempt. The momentum is unstoppable,” added another.

“Never give up on serving the people; fellow citizens need you and your team,” a Facebook user wrote.

“You will continue to have our support, look forward to seeing you and your team in Parliament,” another chimed in.

“It’s always challenging for first-timers to win. However, achieving such a result is amazing. It was a tough fight. Work hard these 5 years. Make the residents recognise the effort. All the best!” a commenter wished the WP’s Punggol team.

In Punggol, the Workers’ Party may have fallen short of victory, but it did something rarer: it shifted expectations. What was once a foregone conclusion is now a contest, and Harpreet Singh’s message of perseverance signals that the quiet work between elections may matter more than the noise during them. Whether momentum hardens into mandate remains to be seen. But if 44.83% was the starting point, 2026 will not be fought on old assumptions—and the ruling party now knows it. /TISG

Read also: ‘Truly inspiring’: Harpreet Singh delighted with 79-year-old first time WP volunteer at Punggol