Gurratan Singh, the younger brother of federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, is trying to keep a seat at the Ontario legislature in the family. Singh announced Monday he is seeking the NDP nomination in Brampton East for the upcoming provincial election in June.

"I love this community, and I'm really, really connected to this community. I've been organizing actively in the community for the past 10 years," Singh said in an interview Tuesday.

"When I hear the issues that they are facing ... it motivates me to want to fight for this community, to be their voice so we can stand up for them and try and make their lives better," he said.

Brampton East is one of the newly redrawn ridings for the 2018 election. It covers much of the same territory as Bramalea–Gore–Malton, the riding Jagmeet Singh represented at Queen's Park from 2011 until this past fall when he won the federal leadership and he gave up his provincial seat.

Gurratan Singh posted a photo on Twitter a few days ago with a caption that said he had been door-knocking in the riding but he had not made it official that he was running for the nomination until Monday. The nomination meeting is scheduled for April 2. The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives already have nominated candidates — Parminder Singh and Simmer Sandhu, respectively.

Jagmeet Singh, left, is the federal NDP leader and his brother Gurratan, right, is going to try to win a seat in the Ontario legislature where his brother sat before he moved to federal politics. (Instagram)

Singh said he talked over his decision to run extensively with his brother and others in the community. He concluded the timing was right to try and make the jump into provincial politics, especially given the vacancy left by his brother's departure. He said the community needs a strong advocate to fight for them, and he believes it can be him.

"I am very passionate about fighting for this community and making sure that they have what they need to ensure they can live their lives to their best," said Singh. Hydro costs, auto insurance costs and unstable work are among the issues he says people are struggling with when he meets them.

Lawyer job on hold for politics

This is Singh's first time running for election in provincial politics though he is no stranger to it or to campaigning. He ran for regional councillor for Brampton in 2014 but didn't win. He has been by his brother's side since the start of his political career, working on all of his campaigns.

Singh put his job as a lawyer on hold to work full-time on his brother's successful federal leadership campaign last year and has continued to advise him since he won.

Had an amazing time yesterday door knocking in Brampton East, where we made history. It was great to hear that people are feeling energetic about the <a href="https://twitter.com/OntarioNDP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OntarioNDP</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AndreaHorwath?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AndreaHorwath</a> in the upcoming election ✌🏽 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#onpoli</a> <a href="https://t.co/uHqJkfAVqX">pic.twitter.com/uHqJkfAVqX</a> —@GurratanSingh

The federal leader has faced criticism recently for his handling of questions about his attendance at a rally in 2015 in San Francisco (he was deputy leader of the Ontario NDP at the time) with Sikh community activists and of the Air India bombing in 1985 and who was responsible for it.

In an interview last October on CBC's Power & Politics, Singh did not denounce extremists within Canada's Sikh community who glorify Talwinder Singh Parmar's memory. An 18-month national inquiry identified Parmar as the mastermind of the bombing that killed 268 Canadians. In the interview Singh said he didn't know who was responsible for the bombing but in an another interview with CBC News last month he said he now accepts the inquiry's findings.

So does the younger Singh, he said Tuesday.

"Unequivocally, I accept the findings of the Air India bombing and I condemn all those involved," he said.

NDP welcomes news

"In regards to violence, we've been clear in our condemnation of all sorts of violence and all sorts of terrorism or violence in any respect," he said. Singh also emphasized that advocating for self-determination and extremism are different things that should not be conflated and he said there is no current evidence of advocating for violence in the Sikh community.

Singh's announcement that he intends to run for the NDP was met with enthusiasm by his brother's former colleagues, and boss, at Queen's Park.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, left, and his brother Gurratan Singh pose for a photo at the party offices in Ottawa, Wednesday, October 25, 2017. Gurratan announced March 26, 2018 that he will seek the NDP nomination provincially in Brampton East. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she's excited about it. "Brampton East is turf that they've held before, the Singh family, so I'm looking forward to seeing Gurratan walk in his brother's footsteps," she said.

Horwath said like his brother, Gurratan is "charming" and dedicated to fighting for people. "He's a very thoughtful guy and he's going to make a great MPP. I expect that the people of Brampton East will be happy with his running."

Another NDP MPP, France Gelinas, said she's met Singh several times and that it's excellent news that he wants to run for the party.

"He's a man who believes in the principles of the NDP," she told Radio-Canada.