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UK elections: How British politicians are wooing Indian electorate
The Indian community’s vote accounts for a fraction of the total electorate – nearly 6,15,000 out of over 45 million – but the Conservative and Labour parties have been focussing more on the community than ever before – and with good reason.
The Indian community’s vote accounts for a fraction of the total electorate – nearly 6,15,000 out of over 45 million – but the Conservative and Labour parties have been focussing more on the community than ever before – and with good reason.
As several accounts exaggerate the influence of the Indian community in Thursday’s elections, the fact remains that it is the largest of Britain’s non-white communities with significant presence in constituencies in London, Leicester and Birmingham.
‘Indian’ faction is the largest of the BME (black and minority ethnic) community. One estimate suggests that the BME vote is key in as many as 170 seats where it was more than the winning margin in the 2010 elections.
Until the late 1990s, the Indian community overwhelmingly voted for Labour, reflecting the preferences of the first generation of Indian immigrants, who mostly worked in factories and foundries, where unions backing the Labour party had a strong base.
In recent elections, the community’s support to Labour has dwindled, as third generation voters moved away from their parents' professions. In the 2010 elections, the Conservative party won much support from the Indian community.
Arun Photay, 31, the Conservative candidate from Birmingham Yardley says, “The second, third generation of our community is not in the labour mode – we are into the professions and judge for ourseleves which party serves our needs the best”.
Indian community is one of two most prosperous and educated communities in Britain (Chinese is the other) – party leaders harp on ‘India’ and ‘Indian’ also because they are aware of its links with an economically resurgent India.
David Cameron and Ed Miliband have been doing the rounds of temples and gurdwaras, wearing garlands, ‘tika’, holding ‘aarti thalis’ or donning suitable headgear.
David Cameron in a gurudwara. (Twitter Photo)
In a first in Britain’s electoral politics, a slick video in Hindi seeking votes from the Indian community was released by the Conservative party, highlighting the party’s colour – ‘neela’ (blue) – seeking to hit all the right buttons for the community.
A duet song composed for the 2.37 minute film pleads voters to repose their trust in Prime Minister David Cameron, because ‘Sapne, apne poore honge, vaade yeh poore karenge’ (he will realise our dreams, keep his promises).
The video shows Cameron greeting religious leaders such as Morari Bapu with folded hands, while his wife Samantha appears at various Indian events in a sari. Cameron is shown visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar and gurdwaras in the UK.
Visuals accompanying the upbeat song include Cameron shaking hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in Australia and unveiling the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square in the company of Amitabh Bachchan and Finance minister Arun Jaitley.
The political lyrics of the video's theme song:
‘Neela hai asmaan, gagan vishaal
Yehi rang hai Britain ki shaan
Ao hum sab ghul mil jaye
Is neele rang ke saath
David Cameron, David Cameron
Tham lo inka haath
Jo leke chale hum subko apne saath
Sapne, apne poore honge
Vaade yeh poore karenge
Jo bhi kam liya David ne
Poora karke chhodenge
Inka saath na chhodo, inpe bharosa rakhho
Inka saath na chhodo, inke range mein rang lo'.
Dismissing the video, senior Labour MP from Southall, Virendra Sharma told HT that the Indian community does not get swayed by Bollywood-style songs, but they use their intelligence and vote according to which party has the best policies. "I am sure they will continue to support Labour this time too".
Both parties have more Indian-origin candidates than ever before (see table below), with the Conservatives putting up 17 and Labour and Liberal Democrats fielding 14 each. The largest cohort of such candidates is expected in the House of Commons when results are declared by Friday morning.
Among the candidates are two Indian-origin brother-sister duos representing two different political ideologies are in the fray – one set on behalf of Labour and the other Conservative, reflecting change and continuity in the community’s support for the parties over the years.
The brother-sister duo contesting on behalf of Labour are Keith Vaz (58) – a veteran of British Asian politics – from Leicester East, and his sister Valerie (60) from Walsall South. Born in Aden to parents from Goa, the two are sitting MPs and well placed to retain their seats.
The other two are Conservative candidates: Arun Photay (31) from Birmingham Yardley and his sister Suria (27) from Wolverhampton South East. Arun has been a Conservative councillor in the Wolverhampton City Council.
Photay said his father is of Punjab-origin and grew up in New Delhi, and arrived in this country as a financial adviser. His parents supported his and sister’s move into politics after completing higher education.
Suria said: “I am a trained barrister and I got involved in politics through my brother. When he contested the local elections, I delivered leaflets for him and walking around with other party members, I learned more about politics”.
She added: “Having researched, I found that no substantial improvements were being made in Wolverhampton and also there wasn't a large voice for women or the Asian community in the Houses of Parliament and I want to change that,"
Arun insisted that there is no sibling rivalry and was proud of his sister, who comes across during campaigning as a highly-motivated and energetic candidate. Both are keen that that more people from the community enter politics.
Indian-origin MPs and candidates
In 2015, there are a record 59 candidates of Indian-origin in the fray.
Basic information on the UK polls
