May 18, 2012 12:00pm by David Farrar

Daljit SIngh

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Remember Daljit Singh? Sometime before the 2010 local body elections, he was a Labour Party-endorsed candidate in South Auckland. He appeared in in the Manukau District Court on 5 October 2010, was remanded, and name suppression was refused.

The charges related to alleged voter fraud on a massive scale.

To the best of our knowledge, Daljit Singh has not yet been tried on these charges. We do know that he was back in Court less than a month after first appearing after being accused of breaching his bail conditions.

The breach was about associating with a co-accused. In terms of the trial, I understand it is set for October this year. Four weeks has been assigned for the trial, which is why it has taken so long to bring to court.

So why the interest? Well; on TVNZ’s Breakfast programme this morning, a chap by the name of Daljit Singh appeared, representing the New Zealand Supreme Sikh Council. And we have to say this; he bore a striking resemblance to the Daljit Singh pictured above.

Interestingly, Mr Singh was talking about proposed changes to the immigration laws, which will affect applications under the family category. We wonder whether TVNZ was aware of the “other” Daljit Singh, especially given the numbers of people reportedly living at certain South Auckland addresses, many of whom claimed to be family members!

While it is innocent until proven guilty, it is unusual for someone facing charges of this nature to be acting as a spokesperson on television. But perhaps not surprising, as even after charges were laid he continued as a fundraiser for Labour, posing for photos with then leader Phil Goff last year.