BENGALURU: NRI Dr Neeraj Patil, a consultant in accident and emergency medicine, who hails from Karnataka, has been elected member of the National Executive Council (NEC), the highest decision-making body of the Labour Party which is now in power in the United Kingdom.
Dr Patil will participate in its first meeting to be held on Tuesday. Patil, who was previously mayor of Lambeth, told TNIE on the phone from London, “The 39-member policy-making body will also have newly-elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Deputy PM Angela Rayner participating. The NEC has many MPs and other important Labour Party members, and its other functions are to maintain voter support, do well in elections carry out constitutional responsibilities and set strategic direction.’’
He said he had worked extensively for the party in the recently held parliamentary election which the Labour Party won, especially among voters of Indian origin. There are close to 17 lakh voters of Indian origin, mostly Hindus, and Dr Patil and other Indian-origin voters had reached out to them. The UK has a population of about 65 million, which is almost the total population of Karnataka.
On this elevation, Dr Patil said, “I never expected I would be chosen for this honour.’’ Neeraj Patil’s family is not new to politics, his father and uncle were MLAs in Karnataka. “Dr Patil recalled that it was tough visiting homes of Indian-origin voters and getting them to support Labour. Many supported the conservatives because of former PM Rishi Sunak. Recalling the hectic six weeks of campaigning and canvassing, Patil said he was glad their effort paid off and Labour won ‘chaar sau paar’ -- 412 seats as opposed to 121 for Conservatives.