New Delhi: Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak won the fourth round of voting with 118 votes and is leading in the race to replace Boris Johnson as British prime minister and leader of the Conservative party.
In the fourth round of voting for the Tory leadership held on July 19, Rishi Sunak retained his number 1 position and increased his vote share to 118 from 115 in round three. The India-origin British MP, who now has the backing of 118 MPs, is just shy of the 120-mark or one-third of Conservative Party MPs. He has almost booked his place in the final two. The candidate who receives the most votes will be elected the new Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister on September 5, India Today reported.
Rishi Sunak fact file
- Born in Southampton to a general practitioner father and a pharmacist mother, he first became an MP in 2015. He was elected from Richmond, Yorkshire.
- He was appointed to the most important UK Cabinet post – Chancellor of the Exchequer by Johnson in 2020.
- The minister gained popularity for his economic package to aid businesses and employees as an unprecedented pandemic gripped the country and the world.
- His massive popularity took a huge hit over his wife’s non-domiciled tax status and the party gate scandal, among other issues.
If Sunak does become the PM of Britain, then he will be the first person of Indian or even Asian origin to hold the post.
