UK Polls: PM Modi Sends Wishes To Keir Starmer On Victory; Drops A Message To Sunak As Well

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended his congratulations to Keir Starmer, who is set to replace Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

In a post on X, PM Modi celebrated Starmer's remarkable victory in the UK general elections. "I look forward to our positive and constructive collaboration to further strengthen the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in all areas, fostering mutual growth and prosperity," he expressed.

PM Modi also praised the outgoing UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his commendable leadership. "Thank you @RishiSunak for your admirable leadership of the UK, and your active contribution to deepening the ties between India and the UK during your term in office. Best wishes to you and your family for the future," Modi stated.

On the other hand, 26 Indian-origin Members of Parliament have been elected to the House of Commons in the UK's general election, with several Conservatives maintaining their positions despite an overall challenging outcome for their party.

Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led the Tory charge of British Indians retaining their seats, securing a decisive win in his Richmond and Northallerton constituency in Yorkshire. However, this victory came amidst a landslide win for the Labour Party, which saw the Conservative Party losing over 200 seats.

Other prominent British Indian Conservatives who retained their seats include former home secretaries Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, along with Sunak's Goan-origin Cabinet ally Claire Coutinho. Gagan Mohindra held on to his South West Hertfordshire seat for the Conservatives, while Shivani Raja gained the keenly contested constituency of Leicester East from Labour candidate Rajesh Agrawal.

However, the Tories did face significant losses, with Shailesh Vara narrowly losing his North West Cambridgeshire seat to Labour, and newcomer Ameet Jogia losing the Tory-held Hendon seat in London to Labour.

Reflecting the overall election results, the Labour Party saw the highest number of successful Indian-origin candidates, starting with veterans like Seema Malhotra, who comfortably retained her Feltham and Heston constituency.

Goan-origin Valerie Vaz, sister of Keith Vaz, won in Walsall and Bloxwich, while Lisa Nandy secured a significant win in Wigan. British Sikh MPs Preet Kaur Gill and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi reclaimed their seats for Labour in Birmingham Edgbaston and Slough, respectively. Other Labour MPs re-elected with convincing majorities include Navendu Mishra (Stockport) and Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East), according to a report in PTI.

Newcomers also made a notable impact for Labour, with Jas Athwal (Ilford South), Baggy Shanker (Derby South), Satvir Kaur (Southampton Test), Harpreet Uppal (Huddersfield), Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West), Gurinder Josan (Smethwick), Kanishka Narayan (Vale of Glamorgan), Sonia Kumar (Dudley), Sureena Brackenbridge (Wolverhampton North East), Kirith Entwistle (Bolton North East), Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough), and Sojan Joseph (Ashford) set to join Parliament.

For the Liberal Democrats, who saw an overall gain of over 60 seats, Munira Wilson reclaimed her Twickenham constituency. In Islington North, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, running as an Independent, defeated his British Indian Labour challenger Praful Nargund.