Publication date: December 1, 2019
AHMEDABAD: Born and brought up in Ahmedabad, Tamkeen Shaikh, 40, is all set to fight her first parliamentary election in the poll to be held on December 12.
Busy with canvassing in Barking constituency, Shaikh said that compared to Indian elections, the candidates have to be very hands-on and interact much more with the voters.
“I was born in Ahmedabad, grew up in Navrangpura area and attended Mount Carmel High School and HL College of Commerce. I pursued journalism for study and career in the city before moving to the UK for higher studies in 2004,” said Shaikh.
A supporter of Brexit, Shaikh has an uphill task of fighting against Margaret Hodge, a Labour party candidate, who has been holding the seat since 1994. The seat has remained with Labour party ever since the seat’s inception in 1940s. But she is unperturbed. “I have been active in social work for long and have engaged with the local community. That’s how I entered politics,” she said.
The constituency has a mixed population of locals and immigrants from Africa and Asia.
“I chose the Conservative Party for its stand on issues such as creating opportunities for business and innovation. I have pledged to improve social care, youth services and social enterprises after my win,” said the mother of two.
Experts point at the rise of Asian and Indian representatives in British politics in the past few years with sizeable populations living in cities like London and having local representation.
Priti Patel, British politician tracing her roots to Africa and India, is currently home secretary of the UK in the Boris Johnson government.
Parth Shastri Archive 