Turban-wearing Sikh woman of Indian origin is new councillor of Canadian city Brampton
Toronto (PTI): Navjit Kaur Brar, an Indo-Canadian healthcare worker, on Monday became the first turban-wearing Sikh woman to be elected as a councillor of Brampton city in Canada.
Brar, a respiratory therapist and mother of three, won the race in Wards 2 and 6 in the recent elections to the Brampton City Council, securing 28.85 per cent of the votes cast.
Jermaine Chambers, a former Conservative MP candidate for Brampton West, who secured 28.85 per cent of the votes cast, was the nearest contender with 22.59 per cent votes. Carmen Wilson was third at 15.41 per cent, the Brampton Guardian reported.
As a part of her campaign, Brar knocked over 40,000 doors and spoke to over 22,500 residents in the last two months.
“I am so proud of @Navjitkaurbrar. She was a selfless and dedicated front-line healthcare worker during the pandemic. She has stepped up for public service and I am confident she will be a phenomenal addition to Brampton City Council,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, who won a second term in the recent election, tweeted.
Brar, who previously ran as the Ontario NDP candidate in Brampton West, had lost to the current Progressive Conservative MPP Amarjot Sandhu.
Another Sikh candidate, Gurpartap Singh Toor, knocked off his opponent Gurpreet Dhillon in Wards 9 and 10 by a scant 227 votes.
The report said as many as 40 Punjabis were in the fray for Brampton civic elections and only 87,155 of the 354,884 eligible voters turned up to cast ballots an abysmal voter turnout of approximately 24.56 per cent.
The Indo-Canadian community, along with the councillor candidates, had raised concerns over the election date overlapping with Diwali one of the most-awaited festivals celebrated by the large swathe of Indian diaspora in Canada.
“It is very problematic that the elections are taking place on Diwali day, especially the municipal election that has always seen a low voter turnout,” said Gurpratap Singh Toor.
Elections to the municipal government are held every four years on the fourth Monday of October, which was on October 24 this year.
Brar, who has little political experience, said, “I think a lot of people can relate to me. I'm just a respiratory therapist. I've actually worked with a lot of people. I'm a mom of three and a lot of people in Brampton are families.”
Brar focused on three areas - building new infrastructure, reducing crime, and improving road safety. Brar said that she planned to work hard to represent all demographics in her ward.
“I'm excited. I'm so proud of all Bramptonians who have voted, making sure our voices are being heard more than ever before,” she said before the announcement.
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Prague (PTI): World champion D Gukesh survived some anxious moments in the early middle game before finally drawing with Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the first round of the masters section of the Prague International Chess Festival here.
The Berlin defense that went wrong for white could be a perfect heading for the encounter between the world champion and Niemann, who is walking his way to the elite chess circles after being indirectly accused of foul play.
It may be recalled that the American infamously won a game against world number one Magnus Carlsen, which will now be documented in a forthcoming Netflix series.
ALSO READ: Cheating made bigger than it actually is: Gukesh
Niemann came all guns blazing and sacrificed a piece with black piece as early as on move 13 to put Gukesh on the back foot despite having the white pieces.
The Indian was down but not out which he proved as the game progressed, and even though, black seemed like pushing for more with his extra pawns in exchange for the sacrificed knight, Gukesh ensured that he stayed in the game.
The eventual outcome was a draw, the lone one in the 10-player, nine round tournament that saw everyone with white pieces triumph in contrasting styles.
Defending champion Aravindh Chithambaram of India turned out to be on the wrong side of a position against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.
The Philidor defense by the Indian generated enough evidence that every opening could be playable only till he walked into a deft manoeuvre.
Aravindh lost in the rook and minor piece endgame after losing one of his pawn, and if that was not enough top seeded Vincent Keymer of Germany was blown away by a resurgent Jorden van Foreest of The Netherlands.
It was another Berlin defense wherein Foreest came out with a new idea that perplexed Keymer. As the opening concluded, the Dutchman had an advantage and he picked up a handful of pawns to register a comprehensive victory.
Also ending on a winning note was Abdusattorov's name sake and teammate Nodirbek Yakubboev who put it across David Anton Gujjaro of Spain, while in the other encounter of the day local favourite Navara David proved stronger against Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo.
In the challengers section, women's world cup winner Divya Deshmukh drew with top seeded Benjamin Gledura of Hungary from a position of strength but Surya Shekhar Ganguly ended on the receiving end against Thomas Beerdsen of The Netherlands.
Results after round 1 Masters: D Gukesh (IND) drew with Hans Moke Niemann (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) beat Aravindh Chithambaram (IND); Jorden van Foreest (NED) beat Vincent Keymer (GER); David Navara (CZE) beat Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI); Nodirbek Yakubboev beat David Anton Guijarro (ESP).
Challengers: Divya Deshmukh (IND) drew with Benjamin Gledura (HUN); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) lost to Thomas Beersden (NED); Zhu Jiner (CHN) lost to Jachym Nemec (CZE); Daniel Yuffa (ESP) lost to Stepen Hrbek (CZE); Jonas Buhl Bjerre (DEN) drew with Vaclav Finek (CZE).
