THE Liberal Party on August 19 tweeted: “Liberals in Mission–Matsqui–Fraser Canyon have nominated Guneet Grewal as our Team Trudeau candidate. Congratulations, Guneet!”

Incidentally, Guneet’s name appears as the shortened form “Geet” on the official Liberal website.

That announcement would not have received much attention as such but for the fact that Grewal’s husband, famous Punjabi singer and actor Parmish Verma, tweeted from India: “So proud of my better half !!Congratulations, Guneet, on winning the @liberal party nomination! I’m looking forward to you becoming the next Member of Parliament For Mission-Matsqui-Fraser-Canyon in #Canada. I’m with you all the way. You Got this, babe” along with his photo with Grewal.

He also put that up on his Instagram account that has a following of more than 6 million.

The Indian media as well as the Punjabi media all around the world then picked up the story as it appears that the revelation that he was married broke the hearts of millions of female fans. “Parmish Verma officially introduces his lady love to the netizens!” said The Times of India.

With South Asians comprising 20.7 per cent of the population of the riding, that is sure to help Grewal, especially if the race turns out to be a tight one.

The Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and came into effect in 2015. It was created out of the electoral districts of Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, Abbotsford and Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon.

In the 2015 federal election, Liberal candidate Jati Sidhu defeated his main rival, Conservative’s Brad Vis by just over 1,000 votes (16,625 vs 15,587).

However, in the 2019 federal election, Vis defeated Sidhu by more than 7,000 votes (19,535 vs 12,299).

Grewal’s campaign manager sent The VOICE the following information about her:

“As a young woman of colour inspired by youth action and political activism, Geet Grewal is looking to serve her community. She is fully committed to Justin Trudeau’s call to youth action and running as a first-time political candidate, with much to offer in the way of new ideas, passion, and community spirit.

“Geet is the daughter of Indian immigrants, who worked in janitorial services cleaning and in construction to create incredible opportunities for her and her brother. Her family’s work ethic has helped them grow to become leaders in their community, building and managing many of the developments we see today, including Matsqui’s Summit Centre.

“In an effort to build on her parent’s legacy and improve the community that has given her and her family so much, Geet seeks to create more opportunities for future newcomers, middle-class Canadians, young families and professionals. Geet has been a long-time supporter of the Liberal party of Canada, she started volunteering on Liberal campaigns at the age of 13.

“Growing our economic future, strengthening the middle class, reducing inequalities, and addressing the climate emergency, requires the hard work and political activism of youth. As a young professional, Geet is bold in her commitment to leading our country towards a sustainable future.

“Geet holds a Bachelors in Law from the University of Leicester and a Masters in Law from Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom. As we move our country forward in the recovery from the pandemic and a climate crisis, Geet will bring renewed leadership to the riding as she works to earn your vote as the Liberal candidate for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon and move Canada forward.”

SO who is Parmish Verma?

An article in Hindustan Times stated: “Now a well-known face in the Punjabi pop industry, with hits like ‘Gaal ni kaddni’ and ‘Shada’, Parmish Verma, 31, a Patiala-born boy, has risen to the top after a lot of struggle.”

According to that report, Verma failed a hotel management course in Sydney, Australia, and returned to India in 2008 when he started singing and making videos.

He appeared in Punjab Bolda, a 2011 Punjabi movie. He became popular after his videos for singer-turned-actor Ninja did well.

“His big break came with the video “Zimmewari Bhukh Te Doori”, the story of an adolescent boy. In the video, Verma describes his struggle in Australia and also talks about the advice that Gurikk Maan, son of legendary Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan, gave to him. The Verma family is close to the Maans,” the Hindustan Times said.

It went on to say: “With numerous hits to his credit, Verma has also opened his own production house — Parmish Verma Films. His tie-up and friendship with music composer duo ‘Desi Crew’ has made them a successful team.

According to Wikipedia: “Verma debuted as an actor from the movie Rocky Mental in 2017. He also acted in the lead role in movies like Dil Diyan Gallan (2019) which he also wrote and directed. Later he released more movies such as “Singham, and most recently, Jinde Meriye.”