By IANS,
Toronto : An Indian Canadian member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) who lost a party nomination for a provincial by-election in Ontario due to alleged irregularities has decided against taking legal action against the party.
Amarjit Kaur Chhabra had lost the nomination race for the Scarborough-Guildwood provincial seat to Adam Giambrone July 7 and had threatened to take legal action against the party for what she alleged irregularities in the nomination process.
After losing 14-18 to Giambrone, Chhabra and her supporters had alleged that 12 of the 32 people who had appeared to vote in the nomination process did not appear in any of the party lists and could not produce any NDP membership identity document.
But NDP secretary Darlene Lawson personally vouched for one of the voters and dismissed all other objections raised by Chhabra.
The Indian Canadian had then threatened to take legal action against the party.
In what was a bizarre twist to a series of events, Giambrone was in the party’s candidate selection committee and had a hand in Chhabra’s selection.
But he later quit the selection committee and decided to run for the seat himself and informed Chhabra two days prior to the nomination race.
Local media reported Thursday that Chhabra has now decided against taking any legal action as the by-election Aug 1 is way too close.
“I was obviously angry at the party, but I haven’t shed a tear in all of this,” the Toronto Star quoted Chhabra, a union activist, as saying in an interview.
“I’m going to run for office again, absolutely.”