Boris Johnson landed in Ahmedabad Gujarat during his two-day visit to India with the agenda to promote economic and bilateral ties with India. The idea behind his Gujarat visit may be to give a political boost since a large number of Gujarat-origin British citizens are contesting the local council elections in the UK. This visit may help Johnson go get some goodwill with the Gujarat-born UK voters and their leaders.
India’s municipal corporation is similar to UK’s local council, and UK’s local council gets a four-year term in the office. The local council election is scheduled to be held on May 5th this year. The youngest candidate, Yash Patel, whose family belongs to Ahmedabad, is contesting in the local council election, a candidate from Alperton, the area in northwest London. Yash, a higher secondary passed out, is due to enter UCL University to pursue his higher studies in architecture. “I decided to enter politics to serve the locals and for the betterment of our community.” A lawyer who is also contesting in elections origin from Gujarat.
Jignesh Patel, a famous artist, Hetal Upadhayay, and Soniya Maya Dhiman are among the other Gujarat-origin candidates in the election. Jignesh Patel says, “I am contesting the election not only for the welfare of the local people but also to ensure a voice for the Gujarati community.”