Many candidates of Pakistani origin taking part in today's UK elections

United Kingdom is the home for many Asians. these British Asians will also take part as voters and exercise their right to cast votes and elect the representative of their choice. Many British Asians, including Pakistanis, will contest elections from the British political parties’ tickets. A total of 159 British Asians are hopeful of becoming MPs, with the Conservative party fielding the highest number of Asians, 36 in total. They are closely followed by Labour (35) and the Liberal Democrats (32). Here are five among the 159 Asian candidates who have decided to try their luck and woo in voters from their constituency.

1. Altaf Hussain (Conservative party)

Born in Srinagar, Kashmir, Altaf is an Orthoepaedic Surgeon and doctor. Hussain cites his main concerns at health and looks to improve that department significantly when and if elected as the MP from Swansea East. He has also vowed to work with charity organizations and third sector to encourage more apprenticeships.

2.Natasha Asghar (Conservative party)

Natasha Asghar is contesting from Newport East from the Conservative party platform. Her father Mohammad Asghar was also a Welsh politician who was born in Peshawar. A resident of the area, she has worked across UK in business and industry. She has campaigned for the right to provide better infrastructure in the form of new roads. Asghar has also promised her voters that if elected, she would aid the unemployed and bring in investment for Newport.

 

3. Anas Sarwar (Labour Party)

Son of Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, ex-governor of Punjab, he had been elected as Member of Parliament from Glasgow Central from the Labour Party back in 2010. He was given the portfolio of Shadow Minister for Internal Development during his time as MP.

4. Sadiq Khan (Labour Party)

Sadiq Khan is a Member of Parliament for Tooting, where he has lived all his life. Though he was born in Tooting, he is of Pakistani ancestry. He was first elected as MP for Tooting on 5th May 2005 and was re-elected on 6th May 2010. Prior to becoming a MP for Tooting, he was a Human Rights solicitor and was a founding partner of the city’s most renowned Human Rights firms.

5. Yasmine Qureshi (Labour Party)

Yasmine Qureshi was the winning candidate from Bolton East in the 2010 general elections and has again been awarded the Labour party nomination as the candidate from her constituency. By profession she is a lawyer and she has done her Masters in Law from University College London. She is a Pakistani by origin and was born in the city of Gujrat.

6. Naseem Shah (Labour Party)

Naseem Shah or as she is popularly known as Naz Shah has been nominated from the Labour party’s ticket platform. She was born and bred in Bradford West from where she is contesting the elections. Naz is a Pakistani by origin and it is reported that she spent her early life in extreme poverty.

7. Amna Ahmad (Liberal Democrats)

Amna was born in Pakistan and speaks fluent Urdu. She is a resident of Streatham and has campaigned to promote healthy activities among the children of that area as well as highlighting the parking problems of Streatham. The Liberal Democrats are the biggest challenge to the Labour Party in Streatham.

8. Tasmina Ahmad Sheikh (Scottish National party)

Ochil & South Perthshire is where Tasmina is campaigning from. She is a lawyer and screen actress by profession. She was on the board of Yes Scotland in the run-up to the referendum and is now a regular columnist in her country’s newest daily newspaper, The National. She has also starred in quite a few TV shows in Pakistan and is a recognizable face in the country.

9. Sergi Singh (UKIP)

The Indian Sikh owner of ‘Jackson Wines’ in East Hull is a prominent member of the UKIP party running as their Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire branch vice-president. Sergi is one of the very few and scarce non-white members of UKIP, which is a political party known for their racist and rigid views for non-whites.Editor’s Pick: Pakistan General Elections Update