Pro-Khalistani Jagmeet Singh defeated in Canada elections

Ottawa, April 29 (IANS) Following a humiliating defeat in the Canadian federal elections, New Democratic Party (NDP) chief Jagmeet Singh, known for his pro-Khalistan stance, announced his resignation on Tuesday.

Singh was contesting for a third consecutive term but lost his Burnaby Central seat in British Columbia to Liberal Party's Wade Chang.

While Singh managed to secure just about 27 per cent of the vote share, Chang emerged victorious with more than 40 per cent of the votes.

The results marked a devastating blow for Singh and his party. The Liberals, led by Mark Carney, won the election with over 160 seats, whereas the NDP's presence in Parliament was reduced to a mere seven seats out of the 343 they contested.

The party's vote share plummeted to just 2 per cent. In stark contrast, the NDP had secured 24 seats in the previous federal election.

With this dramatic decline, the NDP is now poised to lose its national party status, which in Canada requires a minimum of 12 seats in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals have retained power; however, the party fell short of securing a majority government.

Reacting to the outcome, Singh took to social media platform X and posted, "I know this night is disappointing for New Democrats."

"But we are only defeated when we believe those that tell us we can never dream of a better Canada... I am disappointed that we could not win more seats. But I am not disappointed in our movement," he added.

Singh, who became the leader of the NDP in 2017, holds the distinction of being the first ethnic minority politician to lead a major federal political party in Canada.

Canadian public broadcaster CBC and other media outlets projected that the Liberal Party, under Carney's leadership, would form the next government.

However, whether the Liberals would secure a majority in the House of Commons remained unclear at the time of reporting.

Jagmeet Singh has consistently been a strong supporter of Khalistani principles, often associating himself with the goals of the Khalistan movement, which aims to establish an independent Sikh state separate from India, a view which has drawn significant criticism from New Delhi.

Tensions between India and Canada escalated significantly last year after Ottawa accused New Delhi of involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

During this period, Singh prominently emerged as a strong backer of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who levelled the allegations.

However, India rejected the "baseless" allegations as Canada failed to provide evidence.

However, Singh's political positioning shifted in September last year when the NDP became the last among Canada's three major opposition parties to sever ties with Trudeau's administration.

He accused the former prime minister of surrendering to corporate interests and abandoning progressive promises.

--IANS

int/sd/