NEW DELHI: Canadians voted to send 18 Sikhs to parliament this time, the same number as the 2014 polls. The 18 MPs were elected in the provinces of Ontario (10), British Columbia (4), Alberta (3) and Quebec (1). Of these, 13 belong to the Liberal party, four are from the Conservative party and one from NDP. Sikhs form approximately 2% of the population both in Canada and India, but their representation in politics is unmatched — Canada has 18 MPs of Sikh heritage whereas India just has 13 Sikh MPs in the Lok Sabha.Punjab, with 13 Lok Sabha seats, has 10 Sikh MPs, including Muhammad Sadique, a member of the Doom community, a Scheduled Caste. Guru Nanak Dev’s accompanying musician Bhai Mardaana, too, belonged to the Doom community.Sadiq’s fluid religious identity — born in a non-practising Muslim family, he admitted in court in 2012 that he had started professing Sikhism from 2006 — has not faced any trouble in Punjab at all. His identity among people remains that of a Muslim, especially because of his name. The rest of the states all together have elected three Sikh MPs — BJP’s SS Ahluwalia and Maneka Gandhi, and Navneet Kaur Ravi Rana, an Independent.