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Record 26 Indian-Origin MPs Enter UK Parliament

Apart from Rishi Sunak, 25 other Indian-origin MPs — including 20 from the Labour Party and five Conservatives — also emerged victorious on Friday, reports Asian Lite News

A record number of 26 Indian-origin MPs are set to enter the UK Parliament after Friday’s General Election results, marking a significant increase from 15, five years ago.

Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak, the first Indian-origin person to have served as the UK Prime Minister, leads the pack after having secured victory from Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire.

Apart from Sunak, 25 other Indian-origin MPs — including 20 from the Labour Party and five Conservatives — also emerged victorious on Friday.

Priti Patel

Priti Patel, Conservative MP of Gujarati descent, won from Witham, Essex. Patel, who has served in various capacities, including Secretary of State for International Development, has been representing the constituency since 2010.

Gagan Mohindra, a prominent politician from a Punjabi Hindu background, secured his seat in South West Hertfordshire. Mohindra has been a Conservative MP since 2019, following his initial election as a Parish Councillor in 2004.

Labour Party leader Seema Malhotra retained her Feltham and Heston constituency for a fourth term since 2011. Malhotra has held several shadow ministerial roles, including Shadow Minister for Skills and Further Education.

Lisa Nandy

Valerie Vaz, Labour leader of Goan origin, won the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency for the fifth time. Vaz, who has been an MP since 2010, has served as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons.

Lisa Nandy retained her seat in Wigan, making her the constituency’s first female MP and one of the first Asian female MPs since 2010. She has served as the Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development.

ALSO READ: A Labour MP from Kerala

Nadia Whittome, who made history in 2019 as the UK’s youngest MP at the age of 23, was re-elected from Nottingham East.

Preet Kaur Gill, the UK’s first female Sikh MP, defeated Conservative Ashvir Sangha in Birmingham, a seat she has held since 2017. Gill has served as the Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health.

Labour Party’s Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi retained his Slough constituency, although with a reduced victory margin.

Shivani Raja, MP from Leicester East

Conservative leader Shivani Raja won the Leicester East constituency, where she was fielded against another Indian-origin Labour candidate, Rajesh Agrawal.

44-year-old Conservative MP Suella Braverman, who was embroiled in controversies and dismissed by the party for her statements, won from the Fareham and Waterlooville constituency for the fourth consecutive time.

Additionally, other Indian-origin Labour MPs to be elected to the UK’s House of Parliament include Navendu Mishra, Jas Athwal, Baggy Shanker, Satvir Kaur, Harpreet Uppal, Warinder Juss, Gurinder Josan, Kanishka Narayan, Sonia Kumar, Sureena Brackenbridge, Kirith Entwistle, Jeevun Sandher, Sojan Joseph and Murina Wilson.

ALSO READ: Starmer Unveils New Cabinet; Names UK’s First Female Chancellor

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Indian-origin candidate Tharman Envisions Non-Chinese PM Era in Singapore

Tharman said in his 20-minute speech that “race is a factor in politics everywhere….reports Asian Lite News

Ahead of the September 1 presidential election in Singapore, Indian-origin candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam has said that the city-state is now ready for a non-Chinese Prime Minister.

“Singaporeans today, compared with 40 or 50 years ago, look at all factors, not just race,” Tharman said in an election meeting with guests from the public on Friday, The Straits Times reported.

Citing former US President Barack Obama, Tharman said in his 20-minute speech that “race is a factor in politics everywhere. “They look at people in totality… Singapore’s ready any time”.

“If someone comes up who’s a superior candidate for prime minister, the person can be made the prime minister. I believe they can,” the 66-year-old leader stated.

It is a marker of Singapore’s progress as a society, he said at the meeting, which was held at Pasir Panjang Power Station.

“The answer to that (question) is before your eyes, when Singaporeans vote (for) a non-Chinese president,” Jane Ittogi told the crowd, referring to her husband Tharman.

In his remarks, the former minister said that everyone should be recognised for what they contribute to society, and no one should feel that they are a nobody.

While material progress is important, “it’s the things we can’t measure that are critical to our future”, Tharman, who had formally launched his presidential campaign last month with a pledge to evolve the country’s culture, said.

Apart from Tharman, senior investor Ng Kok Song and former income chief of the National Trades Union Congress, Tan Kin Lian, are in the race for September 1 election to choose the country’s ninth president.

As the head of the city-state, the Singaporean president is empowered to veto government budgets and key public appointments, authorise anti-corruption investigations, and safeguard the country’s fiscal reserve.

ALSO READ: Singapore, Sri Lanka Vow to Boost Security Ties

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Coulter’s racist rant targets Nikki Haley

Born Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Randhawa, Haley announced her presidential bid on February 14 in a video message where she proudly talked about her Indian heritage.

Calling Indian-American Nikki Haley a ‘bimbo’ and ‘preposterous creature’, conservative pundit and author Ann Coutler asked the Republican presidential candidate to return to India.

“Why don’t you go back to your own country?” Coulter said, making an appearance on the ‘The Mark Simone Show’ podcast this week.

Born Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Randhawa, Haley announced her presidential bid on February 14 in a video message where she proudly talked about her Indian heritage.

She had said that as a brown girl, growing up in a black-and-white world, she saw the promise of America unfold before her.

“Her candidacy did remind me that I need to immigrate to India so I can demand they start taking down parts of their history,” Coutler said.

Coutler’s rants did not stop at just Haley, she targetted India as well, the NBC News reported.

“What’s with the worshipping of the cows? They’re all starving over there. Did you know they have a rat temple, where they worship rats?”

Coulter said that Haley’s decision to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of South Carolina’s Statehouse following the 2015 mass shooting at a predominantly black church in Charleston, angered her.

She slammed Haley, calling her a “Bimbo” and a “preposterous creature” for her decision.”This is my country, lady,” she said.

“I’m not an American Indian, and I don’t like them taking down all the monuments,” NBC News reported Coutler as saying.

Haley, so far, has not responded to Coutler’s comments.

Haley has been a rising star in the Republican party and long expected to run for the White House, IANS reported earlier.

She is a former two-term Governor of South Carolina, one of America’s most conservative states, and former Ambassador to the UN, a cabinet-rank position she held in the administration of then President Donald Trump.

Haley is the third Indian American to seek the Week House, following Bobby Jindal in 2015-16 and Kamala Harris in 2019-20.

ALSO READ: Nikki Haley says she is a proud daughter of Indian immigrants