Liberal nomination troubles 'inside baseball', unlikely to sway most voters
For all the Trudeaumania redux surrounding the federal Liberals since Justin Trudeau took the helm, the party has had some very old-school problems around its nomination process.
Trudeau has been accused of going back on his promise to allow open fights for riding nominations and instead getting in his favoured picks. There have beenhard feelings in some, including the Ottawa-area riding ofOrlans, where former general Andrew Leslie was acclaimed, and in Brantford-Brant, the key southern Ontario battleground where a hurried nomination vote resulted in the only registered candidate being acclaimed.
Bitterness now surrounds the likely coronation of a candidate in the B.C. riding Vancouver South, where the other main contender pulled out of the race ahead of this Fridays nomination, leaving the field clear for another ex-military man whom Trudeau apparently prefers.
[ Related:Andrew Leslies Liberal nomination win draws protest ]
The situation in the riding is complicated by a layer of ethnic politics as Sikh factions within the Liberal party have battled over the nomination.
It seems likely former Lt.-Col. Harjit Singh Sajjan, the first Sikh to command a Canadian Forces regiment, will be acclaimed at this Fridays nomination meeting for the riding, which has swung back and forth between the Liberals and Conservatives for most of the last 100 years.
Sajjan was expected to have vigorous competition for the nomination from Vancouver businessman Barj Dhahan. But he abruptly withdrew late last month despite having signed up thousands of new Liberal members to support his bid.
"This campaign has gone on longer than I initially expected and the Liberal Party has a preferred candidate," Dhahan said in a statement on his web site.
"After much thought, I have decided that I will not seek this nomination, and will instead support the Liberal Party of Canadas efforts in other ways."
Sikh factions said to be involved in Liberal infighting
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Liberal nomination troubles 'inside baseball', unlikely to sway most voters