Newly elected India-origin Conservative MP from Leicester East, Shivani Raja took oath in the UK Parliament on the Bhagavad Gita. The 29-year-old buisnesswoman of Gujarati descent secured a historic victory ending the Labour Party’s 37-year dominance in the constituency.
Against her was a fellow Indian-origin Labour candidate Rajesh Agrawal, as per an India Today report.
Shivani could be seen holding a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in her hands as she read out the oath paper. After taking the oath, she took to X and said: “It was an honour to be sworn into Parliament today to represent Leicester East. I was truly proud to swear my allegiance to His Majesty King Charles on the Gita”.
It was an honour to be sworn into Parliament today to represent Leicester East.
I was truly proud to swear my allegiance to His Majesty King Charles on the Gita.#LeicesterEast pic.twitter.com/l7hogSSE2C
— Shivani Raja MP (@ShivaniRaja_LE) July 10, 2024
She secured 14,526 votes, defeating Agrawal the former deputy mayor of London, who got 10,100 votes.
Her victory was notable given the recent history of conflict between the Indian Hindu community and Muslims in Leicester City following the India vs Pakistan T20 Asia Cup match in 2022.
Her win was also significant as Leicester East has been a stronghold of the Labour Party since 1987. Shivan’s victory marked the first time in 37 years that the constituency elected a Tory.
A total of 28 Indian-origin members of Parliament, including Shivani, got elected to the House of Commons in the July 4 general elections in the United Kingdom.
Keir Starmer became the UK’s new Prime Minister as the Labour Party came back to power after 14 years in a landslide victory.
The Labour Party bagged 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, up 211 in the last elections in 2019. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party won just 121 seats, 250 seats less than what it got in the previous polls.
