5 Punjabis among 15 PIOs elected UK MPs

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 13

Indian-origin candidates have bettered their 2017 performance with 15 making it to UK Parliament this year, against 12 last time. As many as five successful candidates are from Punjab, with four hailing from Jalandhar alone.

While four Punjabis from Labour Party have repeated their seats, Gagan Mohindra, who belongs to Delhi, is a first-timer and the lone Conservative Punjabi candidate to register a win (from South West Hertfordshire seat).

The first Sikh female MP, Preet Kaur Gill, who hails from Jamsher in Jalandhar, is back from Birmingham Edgbaston, while first turbaned Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Dhesi from Raipur village in Jalandhar has returned from Slough.

Virendra Sharma, another nominee from Jalandhar, has won from Ealing Southall for a fifth consecutive term, while Seema Malhotra, who also belongs to Jalandhar, has won from Feltham and Heston.

The other Tories holding onto their seats are Lisa Nandy (Wigan) and former Home Secretary Priti Patel (Witham).

Labour candidate Navendru Mishra, a native of Uttar Pradesh, has been elected for the first time from Stockport seat. Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson is a first-timer from Twickenham. Goan Claire Coutinho, too, is a new Indian-origin face in United Kingdom Parliament for the Conservative Party. Another Goa-origin candidate Suella Braverman has won from Fareham.

Rishi Sunak, son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, has won from Richmond, while Alok Sharma, ex-minister, has been elected from Reading West. Shailesh Vara has won his North West Cambridgeshire seat, while Valerie Vaz, sister of former parliamentarian MP Keith Vaz, has won from Walsall, defeating Punjab-origin Conservative candidate Gurjit Bains.