Wikipedia

Anjali Appadurai

Anjali Appadurai (born May 27, 1990) is a Canadian politician and climate activist.[1]

Anjali Appadurai
Anjali Appadurai in 2021
Born (1990-05-27) May 27, 1990 (age 33)
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
NationalityCanadian
OccupationActivist
Political partyNew Democratic

Early life and education edit

Appadurai's family immigrated to Canada from India and settled in Coquitlam, British Columbia when she was six, to access better education.[1]

Appadurai attended Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam. She formed a global issues club in high school and became interested in trade issues and their relationship to climate justice.[1]

Appadurai attended the United World College, a two-year international baccalaureate program in Montezuma, New Mexico. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Global Politics, International Trade Law and Climate Policy from the College of the Atlantic in Maine.[1][2][3]

Climate activism edit

In 2011, at 21 years old, Appadurai spoke at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa.[1][4]

In 2014, she worked for West Coast Environmental Law where she worked on the Sue Big Oil campaign. She also worked for the Sierra Club and the David Suzuki Foundation’s Climate Emergency Unit.[3][5]

Appadurai was mentored by Martin Khor and Yeb Saño, the later of which she met at a UN Climate Conference in Warsaw in 2013.[5]

Politics edit

At age 31, Appadurai ran as the federal New Democratic Party candidate for Vancouver Granville in the 2021 election.[6] She lost to Liberal candidate Taleeb Noormohamed by 431 votes.[3]

Appadurai was the only challenger to David Eby, until she was disqualified, in the 2022 BC New Democratic Party leadership race.[7] The BC NDP executive voted to disqualify her on the grounds of collusion with Dogwood BC, following a report by chief electoral officer Elizabeth Cull.[8][3][9][10] Appadurai's involvement in the leadership race is thought to have prompted an estimated 14,000 individuals to become BC NDP members in 25 days, more than doubling the previous membership of 11,000.[9][8][11]

Appadurai criticized BC NDP executive's decision and Cull's report, calling it: "an investigation to support a predetermined conclusion."[12] She said it was "clearly a new interpretation" of the rules of a leadership contest and also called the decision to disqualify her “undemocratic” and a "nuclear option."[13]

Electoral history edit

2021 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Granville
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Taleeb Noormohamed 17,050 34.40 +7.83 $104,842.87
New Democratic Anjali Appadurai 16,619 33.53 +20.41 $58,609.98
Conservative Kailin Che 13,280 26.80 +4.92 $72,350.92
Green Imtiaz Popat 1,434 2.89 -2.17 $280.64
People's Damian Jewett 1,177 2.37 +1.56 $3,075.03
Total valid votes/expense limit 49,560 99.34 — $111,836.39
Total rejected ballots 331 0.66 +0.17
Turnout 49,891 60.79 -4.21
Eligible voters 82,070
Liberal gain from Independent Swing -6.29
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Burgess, Steve (2022-08-18). "Anjali Appadurai: 'A Total Reframing Is Needed'". The Tyee. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  2. ^ Mall, posted by: Rattan (2022-08-10). "Former federal NDP candidate Anjali Appadurai will give David Eby rough time". Indo-Canadian Voice. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  3. ^ a b c d Mckenzie, Kevin Hinton & Ryan. "BCBusiness". BCBusiness. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  4. ^ "Get It Done": Urging Climate Justice, Youth Delegate Anjali Appadurai Mic-Checks UN Summit, retrieved 2023-03-28
  5. ^ a b Narwhal, The. "How a 32-year-old climate activist is shaking up the race to be B.C.'s next premier". The Narwhal. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  6. ^ "Anjali Appadurai nominated as NDP candidate in Vancouver Granville". The Georgia Straight. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  7. ^ "B.C. NDP ousts Anjali Appadurai from leadership race, paving way for David Eby to become premier". CBC. Oct 19, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Lewis, Avi (2022-10-20). "The desperate disqualification of Anjali Appadurai". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  9. ^ a b "BC NDP chief electoral officer recommends disqualifying Anjali Appadurai from leadership race | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  10. ^ "InvestigationReport.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  11. ^ MacLeod, Andrew (2022-10-19). "NDP Report Says Appadurai Should Be Kicked Out of Leadership Race". The Tyee. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  12. ^ "Why B.C.'s NDP disqualified leadership contender, and how she responds - Vancouver Island Free Daily". www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com. 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  13. ^ "CityNews". vancouver.citynews.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  14. ^ "Confirmed candidates — Vancouver Granville". Elections Canada. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
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