Tulip, Rushanara, Rupa: Big win for all 3
Three Labour Party candidates of Bangladeshi origin -- Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, Rushanara Ali and Rupa Huq -- have been re-elected in the UK parliamentary election, defeating their rivals by a wide margin.
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury have congratulated the three on their re-election.
Tulip, granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and niece of Hasina, bagged 34,464 votes in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency while her rival Claire-Louise Leyland of the Conservative Party got 18, 904 votes.
In the last UK parliamentary polls in 2015, she had secured 23,977 votes.
“Humbled to be re-elected for my home seat of Hampstead & Kilburn! Thank you all so much for your kind support,” Tulip tweeted yesterday after her victory.
In her victory speech, she thanked everyone, especially members of the Bangalee community who turned up in large numbers to support her during the campaign.
She had earlier said, “A vote for me will be a vote for a strong, local voice. I will always listen to you before I act in parliament.”
Born in Mitcham, London in 1982, Tulip completed two Master's degrees -- one in English Literature and the other in Politics, Policy and Government -- from King's College London.
After the 2015 election victory, she was inducted into the shadow cabinet of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn but resigned later.
Meanwhile, Rushanara Ali, the first British lawmaker with roots in Bangladesh, has secured a third consecutive victory in Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in Bangalee-dominated East London.
She got 42,969 votes while her nearest rival from the Conservative Party, Charlotte Chirico, managed only 7,576 votes, according to the latest BBC polls result.
Rushanara had defeated her rival from the Conservative Party by a big margin in the last elections too. At that time, she got 32,387 votes while the Conservative Party candidate polled just 8,070 votes.
“Thank you, Bethnal Green & Bow, from the bottom of my heart for re-electing me as your member of parliament. It is an honour and a privilege”, Rushanara tweeted after her win.
Rushanara from Biswanath in Sylhet was appointed UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Bangladesh after the 2015 elections.
Earlier, she had performed the responsibility of the shadow minister of International Development and Education after being elected as an MP for the first time in 2010.
Labour Party candidate Rupa Huq has retained the Ealing Central and Acton seat with 33,037 votes, while her rival candidate Joy Morrissey of the Conservative Party got 19,230 votes.
In the 2015 election, she had defeated her rival candidate from the Conservative Party by only 274 votes. But this time the difference is huge -- 13,807 votes.
Rupa's ancestral home is in Pabna. She is a senior lecturer at the sociology department of the Kingston University, and also a columnist.
A total of 14 candidates of Bangladeshi origin contested the June 8 UK polls. Of them, eight including Tulip, Rushanara and Rupa contested from the Labour Party, one from the Liberal Democrats, one from the Friends Party and four as independent candidates.
PRESIDENT, PM AND SPEAKER GREET THE THREE
In a message, President Abdul Hamid congratulated the three politicians and wished them success in every walk of life, reports BSS.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also extended her heartiest congratulations to the three on their re-election.
"The victory of three daughters -- Tulip Siddiq, Rushanara Ali and Rupa Huq -- is a matter of pride for us. I hope that the crown of the victory they brought for the people of the country beam out a ray of light forever," PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim quoted her as saying.
In her message, Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said the victory of the three has brightened further Bangladesh's image in the world.
"Bangladesh can be proud of them," she said.
[Our London Correspondent contributed to this report.]