Indian-origin candidate wins UK by-election
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Indian-origin Labour candidate Seema Malhotra on Friday comfortably won a by-election to the House of Commons from the Feltham and Heston constituency with an increased majority over the ruling Conservative party.
Malhotra, a former adviser to Harriet Harman, who served as acting leader of the Labour party after Gordon Brown's resignation, retained the seat for Labour after a swing of 8.56 per cent points from the Tories.
Malhotra, a management consultant, who has worked for Accenture and PriceWaterhouse Coopers, increased Labour's majority from 4,658 to 6,203 when she was declared elected with 12,639 votes.
Mark Bowen, the Conservative candidate, came second with 6,436 votes while Roger Crouch, the Liberal Democrat finished third with 1,364 votes. The turnout was 28.7 per cent, the lowest in a by-election in 11 years.
The by-election was caused by the death last month of Alan Keen who held the seat for Labour with a majority of 4,658 at the general election last year.
Celebrating the victory with her husband, Sushil Saluja, Malhotra said: "This result is a great victory for Labour which shows the progress we are making under Ed Miliband's leadership, a vote of confidence in the way Labour is changing, listening hard, winning back the trust of the people we seek to serve.
"But this is also a wake-up call for (Prime Minister) David Cameron. This result shows how this Tory led government is totally out of touch.”
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