Meet Jagmeet Singh, the Sikh Canadian politico with suits as sharp as his campaign

The Sikh Canadian leader of the New Democratic Party, who is a probable challenger to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the 2019 elections, epitomises the new ‘cool’ — and online fashion followers are loving it.

If you thought Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the true love of millennials, then revise that idea. Meet Jagmeet Singh, the 38-year-old Sikh Canadian politician, whose dapper appearance and energetic body language have turned him into an overnight Internet sensation.

Singh, a criminal defence lawyer by training, shot to the limelight online after recently winning the elections within Canada’s New Democratic Party — that makes him the first non-white politician to lead a major party in Canada, and a potential rival to Trudeau in the 2019 national elections. A video of Singh’s graceful response to an angry woman, who accused him of bringing Islamic Sharia law to Canada, went viral.

Delhi-based fashion designer Anand Bhushan says, “I love [his] contemporary men’s fashion, with a bit of quirkiness thrown in with his turban. [Singh is] a true representation of what Canada is, a boiling pot of different traditions with a modern outlook.”

Designer Rina Dhaka has similar thoughts. “Jagmeet represents the modern Sikh very well — elegant with a touch of risk,” she says. “I love turbans, anyway; and on or off the runway, they are the rage now. Additionally, he has the physical attributes of an all-rounder.”

Singh bikes it to work, and is ready to take on Trudeau’s Liberal Party government. “There’s so much swag in how he carries himself,” says stylist Vikram Seth. “I find his style quite unique. He aces the well-tailored suited look with pop-colour turbans. It makes him very fashion-forward.”