'Family means everything to me’: Rishi Sunak as wife Akshata joins his campaign

Rishi Sunak's resignation from his post had come amid a revolt that resulted in Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreeing to step down following a series of scandals.

Amid the race for the United Kingdom's next prime minister, Rishi Sunak has stepped up his campaign. He and Liz Truss have emerged as key challengers for the post. And both of them have zeroed in on the issue of immigrants in the latest developments. "People are tired of seeing small boats arrive in this country with the authorities appearing helpless to stop them," he tweeted on Sunday, sharing his plan.

Rishi Suna's wife Akshata Murthy made her first debut appearance at the campaign.

While the campaign heat continues, Sunak also tried to lighten up the mood, sharing pictures of his family as his wife, Akshata Murty, made her debut appearance at a rally. Their daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, were also there on Saturday when Sunak gave a speech at a tyre store in Grantham, the birthplace of Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party's patron saint.

"Family means everything to me. So grateful to have the support of my family at yesterday's event in Grantham. Thank you to everyone who came along”, Sunak wrote in the Instagram post. Akshata, a non-domiciled resident of the United Kingdom (UK), has been hounded for months for allegedly evading paying taxes while her husband was raising them for others as a chancellor.

During the speech on Saturday Sunak described himself as “the underdog in the contest”. "Be in no doubt, I am the underdog, The forces that want this to be a coronation for the other candidate, but I think members want a choice and they are prepared to listen”.

The 42-year-old former Chancellor’s resignation from his post had come amid a revolt that resulted in Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreeing to step down following a series of scandals. Members of the ruling Conservative Party will vote for a successor during the summer, with an announcement expected on September 5.

Sunak won all three rounds of voting among party MPs, narrowing the field to two contenders. However, foreign secretary Liz Truss appears to have the upper hand among the 200,000 ruling party members who will finally decide the winner. According to a report by Reuters, on Thursday, Truss retained a 24-point advantage against Sunak.

Meanwhile, Sunak has pledged to put the UK on a “crisis footing” if elected Prime Minister. He also said besides tackling inflation as a national emergency, his focus will also be on delivering better value for money value for money for the taxpayer-funded National Health Service (NHS) – an issue that is personal to him with a grandparent just out of an NHS hospital.

(With inputs from Reuters)