SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) will be defending Aljunied GRC in the upcoming polls with party chief Pritam Singh once again taking the lead. 

The WP's slate comprises party chief Pritam Singh, 48; chair Sylvia Lim, 60; former MPs Gerald Giam, 47; party deputy organising secretary Fadli Fawzi, 36; as well as new face Kenneth Tiong, 36. 

Notably, Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, a former Aljunied GRC MP, will not be contesting in the GRC and will instead be leading at five-member team in Tampines GRC. 

Mr Fadli was formerly the WP candidate for Marine Parade GRC in 2020 while Mr Tiong is a new face.

The PAP team comprises Serangoon branch chair Chan Hui Yuh, 48; unionist Jagathishwaran Rajo, 37; managing director of urban planning consultancy Daniel Liu, 40; company director Adrian Ang, 41; and dental surgeon Faisal Abdul Aziz, 37.

Only Ms Chan, who is the team leader, stood in the last contest.

Candidates from both parties successfully filed their nomination papers at Poi Ching School in Tampines on Wednesday (Apr 22). 

Speaking from the balcony at the nomination centre, WP's Mr Singh told supporters that they had voted the WP in 2011, 2015 and 2020 into parliament where they did not shy away from the tough questions and worked hard for voters. 

"Your estate is as good as any other in Singapore, let's keep up the momentum... vote for the Workers' Party," he said. PAP's Ms Chan in asking for support from voters said that the PAP team had three "E's" - experience, expertise and energy.

NOT A 'POPULARITY CONTEST'

After the nomination proceedings, Ms Chan told the media that the campaign period is going to be a "hard time" but her members are experienced and have been walking the ground for a number of years.

In response to a question about how they felt about their odds after Mr Faisal Manap was not fielded in Aljunied GRC, Ms Chan said it does not matter who runs as it is "not a popularity contest".

"It's actually really about winning the hearts and minds of our residents," she said.

As for WP, Mr Singh speaking at doorstop after the nomination proceedings said he had put forward the "most perpetuous" team for Tampines GRC. This team includes former Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Manap, who has "always wanted to stand in Tampines", said Mr Singh. 

The WP, which first won the GRC in 2011 and has held on to it since then, retained Aljunied GRC during GE2020 after receiving 59.93 per cent of the vote against the PAP team, led by Mr Victor Lye, which garnered 40.07 per cent of the vote.

In the latest electoral boundaries review, three districts in Tampines West which were part of Aljunied GRC were moved to neighbouring Tampines GRC. Aljunied GRC has 144,032 voters, according to the Elections Department website.

Voters will be heading to the polls on May 3.