The Emerging Front Runner

The Leadership debate for National Democratic Party (NDP) is not only becoming interesting but engrossing too. The party is selecting a leader to replace Tom Mulcair , and challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party and Andrew Scheer of the Conservative Party.
The debates and the issues in the main stream media now seem to be heading in one direction only. Off late the focus has been on Jagmeet Singh. Jagmeet Singh, until now the deputy leader of the NDP in the provincial legislature in Ontario, is a lawyer by profession and just at the age of 38 is giving a tough competition to other contenders. The contest in now reduced to only four. Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Quebec MP Guy Caron and Ontario MP Charlie Angus are the other contenders alongside Jagmeet Singh.
Jagmeet Singh faced severe criticism from fellow NDP leadership contender Charlie Angus. Angus campaign alleged that the membership sign-up numbers as claimed by Jagmeet Singh don’t add up. The criticism erupted as Singh’s campaign announced last week that it had brought upwards of 47,000 new members to the party — more than a third of the 124,000 people the NDP announced would be eligible to vote in its upcoming leadership election. Jagmeet Singh camp claimed that Charlie Angus campaign appears to be “confused”. As per data released by NDP to media, the party as of March had about 41,000 active members in good standing. That number rose to 41,500 in May and 53,000 in July, and the party officials further claimed that some sign-ups from provincial branches of the NDP may not yet have been reflected in those numbers.
Jagmeet Singh has been hitting the right chord at various debates. He brings with him Bachelor’s degree in Science, Degree in Law and is fluent in English, French, Hindi, Punjabi and Tamil. He is known for riding his bike to work and has been featured in GQ. He also sports all the integral elements of the Sikh religion. His three-piece suits have been a hallmark ever since he entered politics and are being noticed at the various leadership debates too. Above all, having a track record at Ontario Legislature is enviable. He came to the Legislature with the promise of getting the auto insurance down, and has been able to get the same done.
In the only French debate Jagmeet Singh’s statement came as a warning to his opponents on the divisive Quebec law that would ban face covering such as the Niqab worn by Muslim women, for people who are giving or receiving public services. Jagmeet Singh was forthright in saying that he opposes Quebec’s Bill 62, and asserted that if the same is allowed to pass it would be in breach of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as Quebec’s own human rights law. Jagmeet didn’t mince words when he called two of his opponents, Quebec MP Guy Caron and Manitoba’s Niki Ashton — for their positions on this contagious issue, which he said amounts to an “inconsistent understanding of human rights.” “I’m not here to convince you to accept my turban, nor my beard,” said Jagmeet Singh. “What I want to convince you is that I’m someone who shares the same values as you.” Jagmeet’s saying so has a meaning not only for the immigrants but also for other Canadians. Pollsters believe that Tom Mulcair’s claim that women should have a right to wear a veil at citizenship ceremonies costed the party crucial support. NDP now holds only 16 seats in Quebec well below the 59 that it bagged in 2011 with Jack Layton’s holding the party’s reins.
NDP now stands at a vital juncture. The party would want to have a leader who can win back the support that it won in the 2011 federal election but lost in to the Liberals in 2015. NDP knows that winning back Quebec won’t be easy, however it also needs to focus on the issue that other provinces are throwing at it, and Jagmeet Singh appears to have understood that well. At every debate Jagmeet Singh has been leaving an indomitable impression about his clear understanding of the real issues, has been expressing himself well and appears organized on how he intends to handle those.
He has been discussing about the harm done by racial profiling, and attempts to highlight how his attempts to stop insurance companies from charging higher rates to high-immigrant, lower-income communities. This remarks “Injustice against one is injustice against all,” do give an assurance of fair play. His being forthright and addressing the core issues with right earners present him a good chance to surge ahead of other contenders. Jagmeet Singh is the only minority candidate among the four candidates in the fray and he appears set to provide NDP its best chance to enhance its base across Canada.