London

While Labour ran rampant across the political landscape of the United Kingdom during the recently concluded parliamentary elections, Conservatives had a little taste of victory on the Leicester East seat. Indian-origin Shivani Raja became the first Tory MP to win from the seat in 37 years and to make the occasion more memorable, she swore her allegiance to the UK Parliament on the sacred Bhagavad Gita (Hindu scripture, part of the epic Mahabharata).

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Raja, a Gujarati businesswoman of Indian origin, said she was honoured to win the seat and take the oath on the holy book. 

“It was an honour to be sworn into Parliament today to represent Leicester East,” wrote Raja in a post on X.

“I was truly proud to swear my allegiance to His Majesty King Charles on the Gita," she added. 

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Raja emerged victorious with 14,526 votes while Labour's Rajesh Agarwal came in second with 10,100 votes. They were followed by Zuffar Haq who finished third with just 6,329 votes. 

The Indian-origin Leicester East MP graduated from De Montfort University with a degree in Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science. After her graduation, Raja went on to work with several big pharma and cosmetic companies across the country, rapidly climbing the corporate ladder in the process. 

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She received overwhelming support from the voters of her constituency after the events of August and September 2022. Riots broke out between British Hindus and British Muslims of South Asian origin.

According to Raja, people were left disappointed and lost faith in the politicians. The then Labour leaders did not stand with Hindus during the riots who were 'immediately blamed' for the chain of events.  After she decided to run for the seat, people saw her as someone who could make a difference and came out in large numbers to vote for her, Raja claimed. 

After the results, Raja said that it was time for a change, adding that the task at hand wasn't a simple one but was committed to transforming her constituency.

“It indeed is time for a change…and that change is Leicester turns blue,” wrote the newly elected MP on X.

Watch | Indian-origin UK MP Shivani Raja takes oath of Bhagavad Gita after defeating Rajesh Agrawal

Notably, apart from Raja, Bob Blackman MP from Harrow East, Bihar-born Labour MP Kanishka Narayan, and former PM turned opposition leader Rishi Sunak, also took their oaths on the Bhagavad Gita.

(With inputs from agencies)