Who is Shivani Raja, the first Tory to win in the Labor stronghold of Leicester East in 37 years?

Shivani Raja, a Conservative politician of Indian origin, was elected as Member of Parliament for Leicester East. She defeated Rajesh Aggarwal, a former deputy mayor of London.

The victory was seen as a shock as Leicester East was known to be a Labor stronghold and it is the first time in 37 years that the constituency has elected a Conservative.

Shivani Raja polled 14,526 votes in the 2024 general election, leading by 4,426 votes over Labor candidate Rajesh Agrawal.

A report of DeshGujarat said that the Raja was of Gujarati origin and hailed from Diu. He also said that during the election Raja devoted a lot of time to engaging British-Indian voters.

The report said that she encouraged British voters in India, especially those in Diu and Gujarat, to take part in online voting.

During the campaign, Raja performed a traditional garba dance at an event, visited temples and appeared alongside Surat Mayor Daxesh Mavani to emphasize her ties to her Indian roots.

Shivani Raja’s parents moved to Leicester from Kenya and India in the late 1970s. She completed her education at De Montfort University, graduating in pharmaceutical and cosmetic science, and later worked with several major cosmetics brands in England .

Raja’s victory is seen as a win in an election where her party performed poorly, winning just 121 seats, compared to Labour’s landslide victory, which won more than 400 seats. The landslide victory marked the end of Conservative government and the resignation of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as both Prime Minister and Conservative leader.

In 2022, the city of Leicester witnessed clashes between the Indian and Pakistani communities following an altercation that broke out during a cricket match.

Keir Starmer vowed on Friday to “rebuild Britain” as he took office as Britain’s new prime minister, following his centre-left party’s landslide general election victory that ended 14 years of conservative government.

Head of state King Charles III asked Starmer to form a government during a meeting at Buckingham Palace, officially naming the 61-year-old former human rights lawyer as prime minister.