Four Bangladesh-origin leaders elected
Four Bangladesh-origin Labour Party leaders — Apsana Begum, Rushanara Ali, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Rupa Asha Huq — made their way to the British parliament following a landslide victory in the Brexit elections.
Apsana Begum was elected member of parliament (MP) for the first time from the Poplar and Limehouse constituency while Rushanara Ali for the fourth term from the Bethnal Green and Bow, Tulip Siddiq from Hampstead and Kilburn, and Rupa Huq from Ealing Central and Acton constituencies for the third term.
Apsana Begum drew 38,660 votes while her nearest contestant Shaun Oak managed to get only 9,756 votes. Rushanara Ali bagged 44,052 ballots while her closest contestant was voted 6,528. The Sylhet-born UK politician was first elected in 2010.
Tulip Siddiq, granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was handed 28,080 votes while her nearest Conservatives’ candidate Johnny Luc got just 13,892 votes.
Rupa Huq also made easy victory as she got 28,132 votes and her nearest competitor managed to bag 14,832 ballots. Rupa Huq, senior sociology lecturer, sealed her first victory in 2015.