Labour Party candidate with roots in UP wins Stockport seat in UK general elections

Lucknow: A Labour Party candidate's landslide victory in the UK general elections sparked celebrations thousands of kilometres away in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur and Gorakhpur.

Navendu Mishra, elected to the House of Commons for a second consecutive term from the Stockport constituency, was born in Kanpur in 1989. His mother's paternal home is in Gorakhpur.

Mishra's maternal uncle Nilendar Pandey, a social worker and businessman who now lives in Lucknow, told PTI that some people in Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Kanpur celebrated his victory by distributing sweets and setting off crackers.

Pandey said Mishra left for the UK with his parents when he was four years old. His father was a marketing manager for Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited and moved to the UK after taking charge of a British company.

Mishra grew up in the UK with his brother and a sister.

He entered politics after completing his studies in London and was elected to the House of Commons in the 2019 elections on a Labour Party ticket from Stockport.

Pandey said Mishra entered politics through the trade union movement.

Mishra is very close to him, Pandey said and added that his nephew called him after winning the election to seek his blessings.

Pandey said, "He (Mishra) likes coming to India. He is always keen on doing something for his country." "He visits India once every year or two and makes it a point to visit relatives from Gorakhpur to Delhi. He is a vegetarian and loves home-cooked food common in eastern Uttar Pradesh," he said.

Praising his nephew, Pandey said, "You can guess his popularity by his victory margin. In the UK, where elections are won by margins of only 1,000-2,000 votes, Mishra won by about 16,000 votes." Mishra secured 21,787 of the votes cast. His closest contender, Reform UK candidate Lynn Schofield, got 6,517 votes.

Pandey said Mishra returned to India for the first time after about seven years in the UK and spent time at the home of his maternal grandparents in Gorakhpur.

"Mishra used to fly kites and play cricket in the streets with the children of locals, including my two sons and daughter. My children are also ecstatic over his victory," he added.

During a recent visit to India, Mishra led a delegation to meet Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The delegation also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Delhi.

Following this, he spent time with his family in Delhi and Lucknow, Pandey said.

Political experts claimed that Mishra's victory and his connection with India would strengthen bilateral relations and cultural, political and social ties between the two nations.

Pandey said Mishra had also planned to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya but that programme did not materialise.

Ishwar Singh, an associate of Pandey in Gorakhpur, told PTI, "Mishra was inspired to join politics and social service by his maternal uncle Nilendar Pandey." "When he visited Gorakhpur at a young age, he used to see the crowds gathering to meet Pandey and got inspired," he added.

Mishra's paternal home in Kanpur's Arya Nagar was also teeming with locals, gathered to congratulated the family on his second successive election victory.

Mishra last visited his family home in Arya Nagar about two years ago.

On Friday, Keir Starmer became the UK's new prime minister after his Labour Party secured a landslide victory in a general election in which weary voters inflicted a "sobering verdict" on Rishi Sunak-led Conservatives.

The Labour Party secured 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons. Sunak's Conservatives won just 121 seats.

Discussing plans to invite his nephew to India, Pandey said, "We have invited Mishra to come here soon and a welcome ceremony will be organised in Lucknow after his arrival."