British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday announced his resignation as Conservative Party leader following an unprecedented mutiny from within his Cabinet and after being abandoned by his close allies in the wake of a series of scandals that rocked his government, triggering a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become his successor.

The race to elect a new leader to succeed Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister gathered momentum on Friday, with British Indian former finance minister Rishi Sunak formally launching his leadership bid. Sunak joins fellow Indian-origin candidate Suella Braverman, the UK Attorney General who is among the early Tory MPs to announce her plan to contest.

The former UK Chancellor who stepped down earlier this week triggering a deluge of government exits is seen as a credible contender and a frontrunner in some party quarters.

So far 11 candidates have said they are bidding to become the leader of the governing Conservative Party and Britain's next premier.

According to Betfair, Sunak heads the betting on the replacement at 15/8. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss with 11/4 and Cabinet Minister Michael Gove with 6/1 are the next two most likely candidates for the PM post, Betfair’s Sam Rosbottom told Wales Online.

Who is Rishi Sunak?

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton to a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) doctor father. His parents, Yashvir and Usha Sunak, had come to the UK from East Africa. Rishi is the eldest of their three children. According to Sunak, he admired his father’s dedication to serving the community, BBC reported earlier.

At the age of 18, Sunak is said to have waited tables during holidays at Kuti’s Brasserie, a popular Indian restaurant owned by a family friend, Kuti Miah, The Tatler reported.

Sunak studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University and completed his MBA as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University (USA).

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After completing his education, Sunak worked for Goldman Sachs and later became the partner at hedge fund firms The Children's Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners.

In the UK, he co-founded a 1 billion-pound global investment firm that pumps money into small British businesses.

“From working in my mum’s tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future,” news agency PTI quoted Sunak as saying earlier.

Meeting his future wife

It was while studying at Stanford that Sunak met his future wife Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys Co-Founder Narayana Murthy. The couple tied the knot in a simple but elegant wedding in Bangalore in August 2009, which was attended by bigwigs like Azim Premji, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, K.V. Kamath, Nandan M. Nilekani, Praful Patel, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Captain Gopinath, Anil Kumble, Syed Kirmani and Prakash Padukone. The couple has two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, and they live in Kirby Sigston, outside Northallerton town.

Stepping into politics

Sunak was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Richmond in Yorkshire in 2015 after the seat fell vacant, when sitting MP William Hague stepped down as foreign secretary during PM David Cameron’s tenure. Until then, Yorkshire was famous for not taking to foreigners, The Telegraph reported. But Sunak was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. He soon rose in ranks and made history in February 2020 when he became the first person of Indian heritage to be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Since his appointment, Sunak has been leading the country’s fight against economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As finance minister, he has introduced many popular schemes such as the furlough-based Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and COVID support grants for struggling businesses. However, his proposed tax hikes amid rising energy prices and higher cost of living have made the Conservative Party less popular among the masses, PTI reported.

Picture imperfect

Sunak made headlines for wrong reasons after being photographed with a 95-pound pair of slippers before the Budget last October, the PTI report said. He was also pictured with a 180- pound “smart mug,” reportedly gifted by his wife. However, he was seen wearing bracelets made by his daughters, highlighting him in a positive light as a family man.

Practising Hindu

In November last year, Sunak unveiled a 5-pound commemorative coin celebrating the life of Mahatma Gandhi. “As a practising Hindu, I am proud to unveil this coin during Diwali,” he said at the time.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Jan 17, 2022 6:48 PM IST