Canadian Sikh leader favourite to become next chief of NDP
TORONTO: Indo-Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh has emerged as the favourite to become the next leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), with support from hardline elements within the community, one of the possible factors behind the surge.
Registered members of the NDP, one of the three largest parties in Canada, will commence voting on September 18 to elect their new leader and results will be declared on October 1.
More than 124,000 members are eligible to vote in the leadership elections, the NDP said in a release. The odds in Singh’s favour have improved in his attempt to become the first person from the Indian-origin community to lead a national party.
Singh’s campaign boasted of having signed up more than 47,000 members in the 13 weeks since he entered the contest. While a rival campaign has alleged those numbers are inflated, it has still been an impressive haul for the 38-yearold contender. The NDP was the main opposition party in the previous House of Commons, and its provincial units have governments in British Columbia and Albert a provinces.
The next NDP leader will captain the party’s campaign for the 2019 elections.
New Delhi will be watching these developments closely, since Singh is barred from travelling to India and sponsored a motion in the Ontario Assembly last year aimed at terming the 1984 antiSikhs riots as “genocide”