Election could see a rise in Indian-origin MPs

Many are locked in close contests

In the 2015 general election 10 Indian-origin candidates were elected to the British Parliament, a record number, but the figure could rise this time.

There has been little change in the number of such candidates fielded by the main parties: Labour and the Liberal Democrats have remained unchanged at 14, while the Conservatives are fielding just 14 Indian-origin candidates compared to 17 last time.

Changing the balance

While incumbent Indian-origin MPs are by and large in safe seats, and many others are competing in constituencies with strong majorities for other political parties, there are a number of exceptions that could change the balance, such as the central England constituency of Wolverhampton South West.

Paul Uppal, the Conservative candidate for the seat, was its MP till 2010 but lost by just 801 votes.

After Labour MP Rob Marris said he would step down, the party has put forward Eleanor Smith, a former trade union president and nurse to contest against Mr. Uppal.

Another close contest will be the constituency of Telford, where Labour’s Kuldip Singh Sahota will attempt to oust Lucy Allon, a Tory who won by a majority of 730. In the Birmingham constituency of Edgbaston, Preet Gill will contest for Labour, replacing Gisela Stuart, who has been the constituency’s representative since 1997. Last time, however, Ms. Stuart won by a margin of just 2,706 votes.