Daijiworld Media Network - London (SHP)

London, Dec 14: It was a victorious day for over a dozen candidates of Indian-origin across both the Conservative and Labour parties on Friday as they registered strong results in the UK's general election.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson clinched an emphatic victory in Thursday's election, making Brexit a reality in the New Year.

There was one other individual who scored a pleasant victory in the UK elections. Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murthy. Sunak, who is married to Akshatha Murthy, received over 36,693 votes, marking a majority for the Tories of 27,210.

According to reports, 39-year-old Sunak is touted as a 'rising star' of the Conservative party and had enjoyed the support of PM Boris Johnson during the party leadership race.

Sunak and Akshatha were married in 2009 and have two daughters. Sunak was born in Southampton, Hampshire. He studied philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Oxford University, before completing an MBA from Stanford University. It was at Stanford that he met his wife Akshata.

Sunak was in banking before taking the political plunge. He worked for Goldman Sachs and then became a hedge-fund manager and later partner. Sunak is also a director in Narayana Murthy’s investment company Catamaran Ventures.

Sunak was selected as the Conservative candidate for Richmond (in North Yorkshire) in 2014 after former party leader William Hague announced he was stepping down as MP.

In UK's latest elections, all the Indian-origin MPs from the previous Parliament were successful in clinching their seats, with Gagan Mohindra and Claire Coutinho for the Conservative Party and Navendru Mishra for Labour among the first-timers.

"Time to Get Brexit Done and get on with investing in our schools, hospitals and police to keep our streets safe," said Goan-origin Coutinho, about the central Conservative Party message which resonated with the voters in the polls.

She won the Surrey East Tory-held seat polling 35,624 votes, with an impressive majority of 24,040 for the party. Mohindra also won his Hertfordshire South West seat decisively with 30,327 votes and a majority of 14,408.

The other Tories to return to the Commons included Priti Patel, the former UK home secretary who is likely to remain in Johnson's top team in the new Cabinet as well.

"This has been a hard-fought election in a very cold time of the year because we needed a functioning Conservative majority," said Patel, who polled 32,876 votes at her Witham constituency in Essex and held on to a majority of 24,082 for the party.

"We are committed to delivering on priorities and getting Brexit done is a priority. The deal is there, we want to move forward," she added.

Alok Sharma, the former international development minister, polled 24,393 votes to win from Reading West.

Shailesh Vara won his North West Cambridgeshire seat with a solid majority of 25,983, polling 40,307 votes and Goan-origin Suella Braverman clinched Fareham with 36,459 votes, registering a majority of 26,086.

Braverman expressed her gratitude to those who helped her claim victory. "Great teamwork in the rain, the cold and the dark! All patriots who want to Get Brexit Done with Boris Johnson," she tweeted soon after the result was declared.

The Opposition Labour Party had a disastrous night overall, losing key seats in its heartlands in the north, but for all the Indian-origin MPs from the last Parliament, there was a reason to celebrate.

Navendru Mishra bagged 21,695 votes to clinch the Stockport seat and become a first-time MP for the party. Preet Kaur Gill, who had made history in the last election as the first British Sikh female MP, was re-elected from Birmingham Edgbaston with 21,217 votes.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the first turbaned Sikh MP, will also return to the Commons with an impressive 13,640 majority, having polled 29,421 votes from Slough in south-east England and beating Tory Indian-origin rival Kanwal Toor Gill.

Among those who attained triumph, veteran MP Virendra Sharma, had a comfortable win from Ealing Southall with 25,678 votes. The others holding on to their seats included Lisa Nandy who won Wigan with 21,042 votes and Seema Malhotra clinched Feltham and Heston with 24,876 votes.

Valerie Vaz, the sister of scandal-hit former MP Keith Vaz who had stepped down ahead of the election, held on to her Walsall South seat with 20,872 votes, beating Indian-origin Tory candidate Gurjit Bains.

The far-right Brexit Party, which had fielded several Indian-origin candidates, failed to make a dent in the election, which marked the biggest win for the Conservatives since the 1980s.