Viraat Thammanna has confirmed that his campaign to run for MLA in the Nanaimo-Gabriola riding for the Conservative Party of B.C. has been suspended.
"Yesterday evening I got a call from the party. They said I may have to hold [on the campaign]," Thammanna told the News Bulletin, adding that he didn't know if it was related to the recent suspension of B.C. United's provincial election campaign.
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, Kevin Falcon leader of B.C. United, announced that he would suspend that party's campaign and encouraged supporters to unite behind the Conservative Party of B.C. to "prevent another four years of disastrous NDP government."
The next day, Thammanna got the call, and his name along with his candidate profile were removed from the Conservative Party of B.C. website.
He described the sudden cancellation as a shock, stating that he's spent the last four months door knocking, and is sitting on 75 t-shirts with his name on them and 10,000 cards.
"This is the only point I don't appreciate. It should be proper communication, proper collaboration, discuss[ion]. That's how it should work."
Thammanna, a retired Canadian Forces soldier, previously ran for Nanaimo city council in 2018 and 2022. In the late 1980s, he bicycled five continents to raise awareness about youth drug and alcohol addiction. In the following decade he skipped rope from an Alberta border town to Vancouver to promote fitness.
Thammanna wasn't ready to comment on his future plans.
"The message to the community is yes, there is a lot of wrong things going on right now and it's important for common reason to install a good, accountable government which constantly works for citizens' satisfaction, like how the businesses and other operations work for customer satisfaction," he said.
"For me, as a military officer, we have zero room in military operations to give excuses. So do [B.C.'s] businesses. We have zero room to give excuses [and we need] to make our clients happy, to pay the employees and have some profit. The same discipline and culture should come to the government."
No replacement candidate has yet been announced. The Conservative Party of B.C. has been contacted for comment.
The other candidates in the riding include Sheila Malcolmson of the B.C. NDP and Shirley Lambrecht of the B.C. Green Party. Dale Parker had been announced as B.C. United's candidate. The election is set to take place on Oct.19.
