Toronto: After losing the community’s support during the April 2025 federal election, the opposition Conservative Party has begun reaching out to Canada’s large Hindu population, and one of the first steps is to elevate a representative to a national governance role.
New Conservative National Council member Dhiraj Jha (right) with party leader Pierre Poilivre. (Credit: HCF)Dhiraj Jha, a resident of Hamilton, Ontario, was elected to the National Council of the Conservative Party at the recent convention in Calgary, Alberta.
Jha, who originally hails from Madhubani in Bihar, has an engineering background and “brings a combination of strong technical expertise, public policy training and on-the-ground political experience to this position”, a statement said.
Jha is among the 20 members of the newly elected National Council, which is accountable to party members and addresses issues such as candidate selection for federal elections.
Jha was previously a parliamentary staffer for a Conservative MP and has experience working on multiple party campaigns in the province.
Community organization Hindu Canadian Foundation (HCF) said Jha’s election “marks an important moment for representation within Canada’s political landscape”.
“As the first Hindu to serve in such a national governance role, he brings experience and a deep commitment to community engagement. His journey reflects values of hard work, integrity and public service that resonate strongly with Hindu Canadians,” said HCF President Arunesh Giri.
According to Canadian media reports at the time, the Conservatives alienated a large segment of the larger Indo-Canadian community, particularly the battleground Greater Toronto Area (GTA), by electing their candidates. This resulted in the loss of a number of seats during the federal election, including some where community members who had rejected nominations ran as independents, resulting in victories for the ruling Liberal Party.
A senior Conservative leader told Hindustan Times that after reviewing the results, the party has started the process of rebuilding bridges with the Hindu community. “There will be change. They understand the problem,” said the leader, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Despite enjoying a 20-point lead until the end of 2024, the opposition failed to succeed in the federal election, suffering a shock defeat to the incumbents, with Mark Carney returning as prime minister, albeit at the head of another minority government. Although Conservative leader Pierre Poilivere survived the leadership review with a large majority of members backing him, he will face the challenge of expanding the party’s footprint among groups such as Hindus to have a chance at power in Ottawa.
