UK: Indian-origin Rishi Sunak is front runner for PM’s post

London: Rishi Sunak, who resigned as the chancellor from Boris Johnson's government, announced his bid to replace him in Downing Street, Khaleej Times reported on Saturday.

The timetable and process of the election is due to be announced on Monday, with around 10 candidates expected to be in the fray initially. The candidates will have to go through several rounds of voting by party MPs, with those who get the least number of votes will be eliminated, until two remain.

The final vote on the two candidates will be cast by nearly 200,000 members of the party through a postal ballot. The winner will be the next party leader and the prime minister, who will succeed Johnson, who is now working in a caretaker capacity until the election is completed.

Sunak announced his candidature in a video, while those joining him in the fray so far are Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch. It is expected that Javid, Nadhim Zahawi, Penny Mordaunt and Rehman Chisti would join the list shortly.

It is the first time in British political history that there are so many candidates for the top job from ethnic minority communities. Sunak, who entered the House of Commons in 2015 and rose rapidly since, is the bookmakers’ favourite. Several prominent MPs have publicly endorsed him.

In the video titled ‘Ready for Rishi’, Sunak recalled his Indian heritage and the journey of his grand-mother and parents through life. His back-story is expected to tick the right boxes, besides his experience as the chancellor during the difficult period of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, allies of Johnson have already started briefing against Sunak, for having sabotaged the person who elevated him to be the chancellor. Others question his position on taxes, his and his family’s prosperity, and whether he realises the gravity of issues facing the common man.

Sunak was put on the backfoot earlier this year when the tax affairs of his wife, Akshata, were leaked, suggesting that she was not paying taxes in the UK on income outside the country. Besides, Sunak also received a fixed penalty from the police for attending a party in Downing Street, along with Johnson.

An unnamed source at No 10 told the BBC that there was "real disappointment" with Sunak in Downing Street, accusing him of having a "short memory", and adding: "It was the prime minister who trusted him and gave him a top job when he was a junior minister. The prime minister backed him to the hilt. It's a shame it wasn't reciprocated." (UNI)