Indian-origin businesswoman, 29, only Tory to snatch seat from Labour

Shivani Raja, a 29-year-old businesswoman of Gujarati origin, has won the Leicester East seat for the Conservative Party, ending the Labour Party's 37-year stronghold in the constituency. Raja was the only Conservative (Tory) candidate to snatch a seat from the Labour Party in the July 4 election in the UK.

Shivani Raja secured 14,526 votes, defeating Indian-origin Labour Party candidate, Rajesh Agrawal, the former deputy mayor of London, who got 10,100 votes.

The victory was surprising as Leicester East has been a Labour stronghold since 1987. This marks the first time in 37 years that the constituency has elected a Tory.

"Conservative GAIN in Leicester East. A new dawn breaks in Leicester," Raja posted on X.

The win marked the Conservatives' only gain on a night dominated by Labour's landslide, which ended Conservative rule and led to the resignation of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Labour won over 410 seats, while the Conservatives were reduced to just 121 seats.

In 2022, Leicester experienced clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities following a dispute that arose during a cricket match between India and Pakistan on 28 August, reported the Guardian.

"MP Claudia Webbe blamed Hindus before speaking to anyone," Raja told The Times of India.

For nearly four decades, Leicester East had not elected a Conservative MP, but the 2024 general election turned the tables, electing Raja to the House of Commons.

"I'm really thrilled with the results in Leicester East tonight. The people in Leicester have been under Labour administration for nearly four decades. So yes, it indeed was time for a change here," Raja said.

The incumbent MP Claudia Webbe and Keith Vaz came in fourth and fifth, respectively.

"From Leicester, For Leicester," Raja wrote in another post on X. "It’s an honour to be selected to serve my home city, the hard work starts now."

In the 2019 election, Webbe won the seat with 25,090 votes, maintaining a majority of 6,019 votes. Raja's win signifies a significant political shift in Leicester East amidst a broader Labour victory.

Controversy has surrounded both Webbe and Vaz throughout their political careers. In 2021, Webbe was convicted of harassing a love rival.

Her appeal in 2022 was unsuccessful, and she ran as an independent candidate after being expelled from the Labour Party.

Vaz, who first won the seat in 1987, was expelled from the Labour Party last month after announcing his intention to run against the official Labour candidate in his former constituency for a new party, One Leicester.

He had been suspended for six months in 2019 due to a drug investigation.

Raja's parents emigrated from Kenya and India to Leicester in the late seventies, making Rushey Mead in Leicestershire their home. She graduated from De Montfort University with a degree in Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science and later worked with several major cosmetics brands in England.