Outgoing British PM Boris Johnson has a strong India connection
Boris Johnson and estranged wife Marina Wheeler
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was probably the first British PM to have a strong Indian connection. His estranged wife Marina Wheeler, whom he married in 1993, is half Indian. Wheeler is the niece of the late editor and writer Khushwant Singh. Before they announced their separation last year after 25 years of marriage, Johnson had travelled several times to India with Marina and stayed with her cousins in Delhi and Mumbai. They have four children together.
Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday as leader of Britain's Conservative party, paving the way for the selection of a new prime minister after dozens of ministers quit his scandal-hit government. "It is clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister," Johnson said outside 10 Downing Street, as reported by AFP.
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Johnson, 58, announced that he would step down after a slew of resignations from his top team in protest at his leadership but would stay on as prime minister until a replacement is found. The timetable for a Tory leadership race will be announced next week, he said, after three tumultuous years in office defined by Brexit, the Covid pandemic and non-stop controversy over his reputation for mendacity.
The leadership election will take place over the summer and the victor will replace Johnson at the party's annual conference in early October, the BBC and others reported. Britain might see its first Indian-origin PM as Rishi Sunak is one of the top contenders for the post of Prime Minister. He is the second-most powerful man in Westminster and served as the government's face for Covid-19 support programs. He had resigned as the chancellor on Tuesday, prompting Johnson to resign soon.
(with inputs from agencies)
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