The 10 Indian-origin MPs who made it to the House of Commons in the previous general elections are set for a hard fight in the next month’s elections as the country’s major political parties finalised their list of prospective candidates.
Most of those elected in 2015 elections are defending comfortable margins, the changed Brexit reality since the last election means a heightened sense of uncertainty.
According to the experts, the Conservative party is largely forecasted to have a smoother victory under Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Liberal Democrats faced a severe defeat in 2015. The party is hoping to revive their chances by focusing only on a limited number of anti-Brexit constituencies.
Priti Patel, the UK secretary of state for international development and the senior most Indian-origin member of the UK Cabinet is likely to ride the Brexit wave
The Tory MP for Witham is defending a large majority of 19,554 in a Conservative party stronghold. She is among the MPs who campaigned vehemently in favour of Brexit and emphasized that it was the best thing for the UK.
She has strong support within the Indian Diaspora, having served as the Indian Diaspora Champion under the David Cameron-led government.
"The Indian Diaspora in the UK are fantastic at keeping this relationship strong and work hard every day to support the UK and India reach our potential," Patel said.
Alok Sharma, who is the minister in charge of India in the UK Foreign Office, faces a faces a comparatively tougher electoral battle as he defends a majority of 14% in his Reading West constituency.
"The UK-India ties are the 'living bridge' between our people, supported by 1.5 million British Indians who make up our successful and vibrant diaspora community. I have the honour to represent the government on UK-India affairs and am proud to see our partnership go from strength to strength," he said.
Shailesh Vara, who served as justice minister in the David Cameron-led government and is currently the co-chair of the Conservative Friends of India (CFI) will be defending a large majority of32.4% in North West Cambridgeshire.
Rishi Sunak, who is the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy is in a Tory safe seat of Richmond.
The Hampshire-born, former Goldman Sachs analyst won the Richmond, Yorks, seat in 2015 by 36.2%.
Suella Fernandes, is also defending a comfortable majority of 40.7% in Fareham.
Keith Vaz and Virendra Sharma of the opposition Labour party MPs are the longest-serving Indian-origin parliamentarians While Keith Vaz had a turbulent year in 2016 with revelations around an alleged liaison with male prostitutes, his popularity in Leicester East seems to be safe with previous lead of 32.8%.
"Theresa May was right to call a General Election. It is important any Prime Minister has a mandate from the British people before they begin the Brexit negotiations with the EU," he said. "But this is not just about Brexit, it is about the vision of what kind of country we want to live in.
This is an opportunity for the political parties to set out clearly how Britain will change for the better. I believe the Labour Party has the answer," he said.
Keith Vaz’s sister Valerie Vaz has a tough competitor in Walsall South constituency in the West Midlands, where she won the last time with a margin of just 14.4%.
MP Sharma, who is defending a majority of 43.3% in Ealing Southall, west London, also welcomed the general elections.
"It will give the country a chance to have their say on the divisive policies and hard Brexit that Theresa May is pursuing. The Prime Minister has called this election because she is scared of the Opposition that the Labour Party is mounting in Parliament," he said.
"In Ealing, Southall we will speak to thousands of people, we will speak to the people that are being hurt by Tory policies and we will see that there is no support for a hard Brexit that punishes working people," he added.
Labour MP Lisa Nandy is defending 31.4% in Wigan and Seema Malhotra is defending 23.2% in Feltham & Heston.
The Tories have fielded another Indian-origin Resham Kotecha in Coventry North East, but is under pressure for not having enough ethnic minority candidates on the list this time.
"The Conservative Party has a proud record of ensuring candidates from all walks of life stand for Parliament," a party spokesperson said.
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AMandeep
