With three days to go for Canada's provincial polls, both the ruling Liberal Party and the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) are vying for the South Asian community votes in British Columbia.
 
South Asians make up a sizeable chunk of the electorate in a number of ridings in the province. Both parties are wooing the community for votes as the campaign for the May 17 ballot enters its last phase.

Surrey is the main battleground for both the parties as was evident from the fact that Liberal leader and British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell paid three visits to the area last week, according to the South Asian Observer.

The NDP received a big morale boost in the area last year when its candidate, Jagrup Brar, won a by-election in Surrey-Panorama, increasing the party's number of elected legislators from two to three.

The loss for the Liberals was largely attributed to a major shift in the Indo-Canadian population.

The current Surrey-Cloverdale Liberal candidate Kevin Falcon said he was making more efforts to reach out to the Indo-Canadian community.

"I've tried to make more of an effort to be engaged in the community and to get involved and get on the radio and attend their events to let them know the British Columbia Liberals care about the community."

According to a poll last week, the Liberals have a slender five-point lead over the NDP. The Mustel Group poll showed the Liberals with 45 percent support and the NDP with 40 percent. The Greens remained steady at 12 percent.

Bolstered by the Mustel poll, NDP leader Carole James said her campaign was gaining more and more appeal.

"Of course, the only poll that matters is May 17," James said. "But we've been working very hard. We've had a great campaign and we've seen a lot of momentum in the last week."

While the poll showed the Liberals leading in the North Coast/Interior region, and in the suburban areas outside Vancouver, the NDP is leading in the provincial capital Victoria and on the Vancouver Island. The two parties are in a dead heat in Vancouver.

--Indo-Asian News Service