A 29-year-old Indian from Kolkata is all set to contest the elections from East Hampshire in the United Kingdom on a Labour Party ticket, the Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday. This reportedly makes Rohit Dasgupta, a lecturer at the Loughborough University in London, the first Bengali to participate in the general election in UK, which is scheduled for June 8.
Dasgupta, a Jadavpur University graduate, had moved to the UK for his post-graduation and PhD, and now is a British citizen. He joined the Labour Party in 2009. “It is a great honour to be fighting a seat for Labour Party in this election and offer a credible alternative to the Tories,” he told Hindustan Times.
Dasgupta said his campaign will focus on the issues of housing, education, health and fair living wages. However, East Hampshire has been a stronghold of the Conservative Party, which had won more than 50% of the votes in 2015. Currently, the Conservative Party’s Damian Hinds holds the seat. “It was after the defeat of Labour’s Ed Miliband in the 2015 elections that I decided to take on a full-time position of responsibility within the party,” Dasgupta told The Telegraph.
Dasgupta says he was shocked by the Brexit decision. “Theresa May’s clarion call for Brexit must be opposed at all costs,” he said, adding that efforts should be made to “reverse the damage”.
UK’s general elections will be held on June 8, after a majority of British legislators voted in favour of a motion by Prime Minister Theresa May to bring them forward. They were last held in 2015. The prime minister had said her decision for an early election was triggered by the need to ensure a smooth exit for Britain
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