Shallow says he’s more than a ‘bright star’; he’s ‘the supernova’ 

Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for North Leeward, Kishore Shallow says he is not just a bright star but a “supernova”.

“… a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of the mass,” Shallow said on Hot 97 FM on Tuesday. 

He was responding to comments one week earlier by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who suggested that Shallow had joined the NDP because other “stars” in the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) would dim his brightness. 

Shallow, who is president of Cricket West Indies, had rejected an opportunity to become a candidate for Gonsalves ULP a decade ago.

However, Gonsalves came out in full swing one day after Shallow was announced as the NDP’s candidate for North Leeward in the next general elections, constitutionally due by February 2026, but widely expected by November 2025.

“… I wouldn’t say more than this: If a man considered himself a star and there is a firmament where there are lots of stars and one where there is darkness, perversely he gets attracted to that where there is darkness because his presumed star, he thinks, may shine,” Gonsalves said on NBC Radio on Sept. 18

“But if you come in a galaxy of stars, as in the ULP, if you think you are a bright star, your star will be dimmed in this galaxy of brightness,” the prime minister further stated. 

However, in his comments on Hot 97, Shallow said that a family friend had forwarded to him the article about the prime minister’s comments. 

“… and he said that the PM may be more accurate than he had intended to be,” Shallow said.

He said the friend told him that the prime minister “could easily be describing you as a supernova”.

Shallow said the PM normally speaks metaphorically, thinking that people would not understand him.

“… but it could be that he’s talking about his own self-destruction or explosion — major star — and another star of brightness is born,” Shallow said.

Shallow said that some people may conclude that the prime minister’s comments were intended to intimidate.

“… some people have said to me, ‘Be careful. If you notice there was another candidate alongside before you go up to this point, the prime minister hasn’t mentioned,” Shallow said.

He was referring to Conroy Huggins, who was announced two weeks earlier, as the NDP’s candidate for Central Leeward. 

“But yet you come out and then all of a sudden he’s on the radio talking about, highlighting the supernova,” Shallow said.

The NDP is expected to ratify Shallow’s candidacy, which would pit him against the ULP’s Carlos James, who is the minister of tourism.

In 2020, James was declared the winner of the North Leeward seat by a single vote, defeating the NDP’s Roland “Patel” Matthews, who was seeking a third consecutive five-year term. 

North Leeward was among the 12 seats the ULP won when it came to office in March 2001, with the remaining three going to the NDP.

The NDP reclaimed the constituency in 2010 and retained the seat in 2015, before going back into the ULP’s column in 2020.

North Leeward ‘neglected for decades’, its potential ‘seriously untapped’

Shallow said North Leeward is “a place that you could probably easily accept, has been “neglected for decades”. 

“And when you speak to the people in North Leeward you get that,” said Shallow, who grew up in North Leeward, but has lived in Buccament and Pembroke, in Central and South Leeward.

“By and large, everyone would say they’re a neglected area in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he said, adding that this is unfortunate because, geographically, North Leeward is the largest constituency.

“And if you’re going to neglect the biggest constituency — not by population but by land mass — it shows that you’re going to retard the progress of the country in terms of land mass, whether for agriculture and so on,” Shallow said.

He said North Leeward is an area whose potential is “seriously untapped”.

“And historically, people from North Leeward have been very independent,” Shallow said, adding that the marijuana industry has been the underground economy in the area for many years.

“And so, these people have grown up being independent and sustaining themselves and their families.’

Shallow recalled growing up in North Leeward and seeing constituents going into Kingstown and buying cases of drinks and patronising stores in the city.

“They’re businessmen and women and they have been doing that for many years, successfully,” Shallow said.

He, however, said constituents’ revenue opportunities have been “pretty much cut off.

“They then become a bit more or they are forced now to depend on government, and the government has not been there, unfortunately, over the last two decades, to offer them that support, and so it’s a neglected place,” he said, adding that this is the cry of most people in the constituency.

He said there are “tremendous opportunities” in North Leeward, adding that he would not be the first to speak about its potential.

“… certainly,  at the right point you would hear them — because I don’t want to speak in isolation of the New Democratic Party,” Shallow said.

He said that when the NDP puts out its plans, “then you’ll hear not only for St. Vincent but there will be, certainly, a dedicated area for the growth of North Leeward in the coming years.”

Shallow said there has been a level of excitement that has come with his candidacy, although he had been receiving calls and messages over the last year to enter politics. 

“But the response of the people in North Leeward since my announcement of being a candidate for NDP in the upcoming elections, I mean, it has really been heartening,” he said.

Shallow said that the people have huge expectations, adding that he is someone who relishes challenges.