WOOING INDO-CANADIAN VOTES

TORONTO: While the Liberal Party appears to have a marginal advantage ahead of the Canadian Federal election on Monday, the Twitter display image of its Prime Ministerial candidate Justin Trudeau prominently features a Sikh gentleman in the foreground. Meanwhile, a campaign web video that touts the man he seeks to replace, current PM and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper has the chorus, “Stephen Harper, phir ek baar.” That ad, distinctly Bollywoodstyled, has images of the Canadian PM not just with his present Indian counterpart Narendra Modi but even his predecessor Manmohan Singh.

With the latest polls showing the vote percentages between the three major parties (the New Democrats are the third) within the margin of error, it is hardly surprising that they are eyeing the IndoCanadian community vote, one that could be critical in many seats especially in the suburbs of Toronto and Vancouver, where their population is at its densest.

While the community was traditionally considered pro-Liberal, in 2011 the Conservatives actively wooed it, one factor in its winning a majority in Parliament. Ontario provincial Conservative Party leader (equivalent of State Party President in India) Patrick Brown, who played a significant role in that campaign, described IndoCanadians as a “massive voting bloc” and one that was a “disproportionately large factor” in the 2011 elections. The Liberals may have learnt their lesson. Rana Sarkar, an advisor to Trudeau, said, “Justin has spent a decent amount of time in those ridings. People are responding to his message.”