They are prominent in the US, UK, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. And, of course, Canada now has four Sikh cabinet ministers — when even India has none.

Say hello to the overseas Sikhs and Punjabis, one of the largest ethnic groups of Indian diaspora. There are villages and towns in Punjab, especially in the Doaba region, where almost every family has a few members living abroad.

The overseas Sikh and Punjabi community invests in their home state through philanthropic and business ventures and also in real estate. Social ties through marriages and festivals are also magnets for the overseas Punjabis, with large numbers of them travelling to their native state during the winter vacations in DecemberJanuary. Hardly a surprise then that a huge political event, such as the state election early next year, is generating a lot of interest in the community overseas, reports the Economic Times.

Captain Amarinder Singh, president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and former chief minister, chose to kick off his election campaign from the US. Seen as the main opposition face against the Shiromani Akali DalBJP government, Amarinder, along with 2530 Congress colleagues, including MLAs, former MLAs and district presidents, embarked on a 20day trip to the US and Canada in April.

While the US leg of the tour went off as planned, the team was forced to cancel their political rallies in Canada because of a rule that prevents foreign governments and individuals from conducting election campaigns in the country.

Amarinder, or Captain as he is known, found overseas Punjabis well apprised of the upcoming elections.

"They are more informed about the current problems in Punjab than many local people. From New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, they came to my meetings in full force; the few disruptive elements who tried to shout proKhalistan slogans in some places did not have any impact at all," he said. The Khalistan movement, which gained traction in the 1970s and '80s, sought to create a separate country in the

Punjab region.

Amarinder, though, is concerned about his trip to Canada being called off. "Canada is a democracy and we have raised the issue with

them about our right to be invited by different organisations to address meetings.

While I hope I will be able to travel to Canada before the Punjab elections, the issue of some elected Indianorigin representatives in the Canadian government being sympathetic towards the cause of extremist Khalistani groups should be addressed by the Indian government," he added.

Amarinder believes that the NRI and PIO constituency is already actively campaigning through phone calls and social media platforms.

Between him and his wife Preneet Kaur, who was MoS for external affairs in the Manmohan Singh government, the Singhs hope to travel to all the major diaspora hubs — the UK, Europe, New Zealand and Australia — to interact with the Punjabis overseas.

While there were unconfirmed reports that the Indian government had formally taken up with the Canadian government the issue of an alleged Khalistani training camp in British Columbia, Amarinder's concerns have found echoes among Indians in Canada. "While there is no support among the electorate in Punjab for any Khalistan separatist movement, there are pockets of support among the Punjabi

diaspora in the UK, US, Canada and Australia," says Ujjal Dosanjh, an IndianCanadian politician and former premier of the state of British

Columbia.

"The recent controversy around Amarinder's visit to Canada is linked to these elements and should be addressed by the Indian government through diplomatic channels with Canada and other governments."

Jasbir Singh Khangura is an entrepreneur and Congressman who gave up his British citizenship and returned to India in 2006 to contest the state elections from Qila Raipur constituency in 2007.

Khangura believes that Punjabis in the major NRI hubs keenly follow political events and trends in Punjab "and only express a passing interest in the affairs of their host country". "NRI Punjabis want better governance in Punjab. They also want better protection of their interests when it comes to land, property, false FIRs and general litigation," Khangura, who was an MLA between 2007 and 2012, told ET

Magazine.

He now intends to contest the upcoming elections as a Congress candidate. Khangura, however, doesn't see proKhalistan groups having any influence on the election.

"The Punjabis abroad have genuine grievances about the events of the 1980s and '90s. Many migrated during that dark period," he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had won four seats from Punjab in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and is seen as a strong contender in the state elections, too is betting big on overseas support. "Outside India, there are many Little Punjabs around the world in places such as Edmonton, Melbourne, London and Fresno. The people there are all linked to India and many of them are breadwinners for their families back in villages in Punjab," says Bhagwant Mann, AAP MP from Sangrur.

AAP supporters have started campaigning in the UK and Canada to garner support and raise funds; Mann hopes that around 50,000 volunteers from across the world will come to Punjab before the elections to boost the AAP campaign.

"We are reaching out to a large number of people who migrated from the belt of Jalandhar,Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara and asking them to work with us when they come to Punjab for ChristmasNew Year holidays. We don't want their dollars but we want their support."

Mann adds that the AAP had got plenty of support from overseas during the Lok Sabha elections.

The Shiromani Akali Dal, or SAD, the party that runs the government in Punjab with its alliance partner BJP, is reaching out to the overseas Punjabi constituency in a big way through social media. "We are engaging with Punjabis overseas and various community organisations of the diaspora through our social media channels, which have a big outreach, rather than focusing on excursions," Naresh Gujral, SAD MP from Punjab in the Rajya Sabha told ET Magazine in an exclusive interview. He added that the party was also banking on the personal popularity of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal among the overseas community to garner support.

California  based Harinder Singh, founder of a cultural and religious organisation called Free Akal Takht, points out that all the three major party representatives have already visited the US, Canada and the UK and are involved in fundraising and other activities at prominent gurdwaras.

Preet Pal Singh Chandhoke, an entrepreneur and investor who recently moved back to Ludhiana from Canada, believes that many Punjabis of Indian origin will be visiting the state in the runup to the poll. "Social media has brought Punjab closer to its diaspora, with many community organisations engaging with its members globally in a big way. For younger, second and third generation Punjabis and

Sikhs, issues like Khalistan don't have any meaning; instead they are attracted to the AAP which, they feel, is bringing a fresh perspective to the state politics." The BJP also has a big support base overseas, which may help the SADBJP combine, adds Chandhoke, whose startup 01 Synergy provides software support to the district revenue department of Ludhiana.

While the Punjabi diaspora has been voicing concerns about issues such as drug addiction, farmer suicides and corruption, different sections of the community are likely to get engaged in diff