Three persons of Indian origin are likely to make it to Parliament if the National Party gains a good percentage of candidate and Party votes in the general election to be held on September 23, 2017.
Rahul Sirigiri, the fourth Candidate, is at a distance, ranked Number 73.
The Party does not have any quota for ethnicities and based only on its rating of candidates’ standing in the community and its own belief of public acceptability.
Sitting MPs Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi is on Rank 32 and Dr Parmjeet Parmar on Rank 34, both safe places considering the Party’s performance in the past three elections. They are of course not in winning positions in their respective electorates of Manukau East and Mt Roskill.
New comer Bala (Venu) Beeram, contesting from Kelston, has been ranked 57, a ‘touch and go’ position but could make it to the debating Chamber if he does well as a candidate and the Party gets sufficient percentage of votes.
Talent and Freshness
Party President Peter Goodfellow said that National’s 2017 Party List is a strong mix of experienced talent and fresh faces.
“National is incredibly lucky to have so many capable people we can draw on, from our Leader and Prime Minister Bill English right through to our newest candidates. Putting together a list is never easy, but this strikes the right balance between recognising experience, diversity, and pursuing ongoing renewal,” he said.
-Venkat Raman
