NEW DELHI

Will a man of Indian origin become the new resident of the hallowed 10 Downing Street? It looked like a tantalising possibility as Rishi Sunak, a son of Indian-origin migrants from Kenya, topped the ruling Conservative party leadership race after UK PM Boris Johnson's ignominious exit.

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After one contender was removed, Rishi Sunak, a former British finance minister, received the most votes to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.Sunak won with 101 votes, followed by Penny Mordaunt, a junior trade minister and the betting favourite, with 83 votes, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss with 64 votes. Suella Braverman, the attorney general, lost with 27 votes.

Kemi Badenoch received 49 votes, while legislator Tom Tugendhat received 32.The Conservative MPs will vote in rounds until only two candidates are left. Following the second ballot, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt remained at the top of the leaderboard.

Third-place finisher Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, will try to win over some of Ms. Braverman's supporters in the subsequent round. Jeremy Hunt, a former health secretary, and Nadhim Zahawi, a newly appointed chancellor, were both disqualified from the race in yesterday's first ballot.

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The second round of voting in the Conservative leadership contest has eliminated Suella Braverman. 27 votes from Conservative MPs were cast in favour of Braverman, five fewer than yesterday.

'Prepared to give everything': Rishi Sunak reacted to the election outcome

After the second ballot, Rishi Sunak, who is still in the lead for the Tory leadership, expressed his gratitude for the support of Tory MPs.

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He said that "I am incredibly grateful for the continued support from my colleagues and the wider public.I am prepared to give everything I have in service to our nation.Together we can restore trust, rebuild our economy and reunite the country."

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