Workers’ Party eyes Jo Teo’s Jalan Besar GRC, which was contested by People’s Voice in 2020

SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) registered a strong presence at Bendemeer Market & Food Centre on Sunday morning (June 3), strongly hinting that Jalan Besar GRC may be among the constituencies it plans to contest in the looming polls.

The party chose the ward, led by Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, as the location for its latest Sunday outreach. Members and volunteers gather en masse to distribute their ‘Hammer’ newsletter and interact with residents on the ground.

Interestingly, the outreach team led by secretary-general Pritam Singh and party chair Sylvia Lim also featured another familiar face: former WP chief and opposition giant Low Thia Khiang.

Over 45 WP representatives were present at the walkabout, including elected MPs He Ting Ru, Jamus Lim, Louis Chua, Dennis Tan, and Faisal Manap.

Sharing photos of the outreach on social media, the WP said: “The team had a wonderful time meeting residents and joining in an impromptu rendition of “要拼才会赢” (To Win, You Have To Fight) performed by a very talented local busker!”

Jalan Besar GRC is currently served by four governing party politicians – anchor minister Josephine Teo, Mayor Denise Phua, Senior Minister of State Heng Chee How and town council chair Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah.

The ward was contested by the People’s Voice party in the most recent general election in 2020.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) team, under the leadership of Ms Teo for the first time, registered its lowest winning vote share since the ward was created in 1988 in that election, with 65.36 per cent of the vote.

Despite being one of the smaller political parties in Singapore, the People’s Voice garnered close to 35 per cent of the vote.

With the WP now eyeing the ward, opposition supporters online are predicting that the WP has a good chance of wresting a third GRC from the PAP if it decides to contest the ward.