Indian-origin father-son duo, Prabhakar and Aaditya Kaza, have successfully been elected to the Hertsmere borough council located in southern England. Prabhakar Kaza secured his position as a Labour and Cooperative candidate representing the Borehamwood Kenilworth ward in the May 4 election. His son, Aaditya, a member of the Labour Party, emerged victorious in the Borehamwood Hillside seat.
Prabhakar Kaza, who previously worked as a banker in the UK, has served as an Elstree & Borehamwood town councillor since 2019. In the recent election, he secured a resounding victory with 1056 votes, the second highest among all candidates in the entire borough, surpassed only by Nik Oakley. Prabhakar's primary goals include maintaining the cleanliness of the borough, reducing traffic incidents, and attracting more investments to generate new job opportunities.
Discussing the reason behind politics becoming his next career move following banking, he said, “After retiring from full-time employment at the age of 65, I thought it was time I devoted myself to giving back to society more energetically. It has been a satisfying journey so far and I would be happy to go on!”
Aaditya, who pursued journalism at Westminster University, also achieved remarkable success in the election. He garnered 770 votes, making him the second-highest vote-getter in the Borehamwood Hillside ward, trailing only Alpha Collins. Aaditya's victory holds special significance as he managed to win in a ward that had been dominated by the Tories for the past 24 years, making it seem unwinnable for the Labour Party. His campaign focused on key issues such as protecting the Green Belt, combating crime, and reducing instances of fly-tipping.
Throughout recent years, Aaditya has demonstrated a strong interest in politics and actively contributed to the activities of the Labour Party. “As a younger Asian, I was always more interested in politics and current affairs. I have always voted since I was 18, and have been politically active mostly campaigning for others when needed like Mr Virendra Sharma M.P. whom I interned for almost a decade back for a few weeks.”, he said.
In 2019, when Aaditya’s father and other candidates were contesting for Borough and Town councils, he was their unofficial campaign manager. Local party officials saw the hard work undertaken then and his name was suggested as a candidate from Borehamwood Hillside this year, a staunchly Conservative stronghold for decades.
With regard to his councillorship, he said, “I joined and stood in local politics to bring a change to the wider community from within as sitting on the outside one can do only so much. I am not someone to make 5-year plans hence my focus is to do a good enough job for the residents of Borehamwood Hillside, deliver on the promises made, and address other concerns which will come up. My councillorship is until 2027, all things considered, I would likely be standing for re-election.”
The father-son attribute their electoral success to the importance of door-to-door campaigning where they knocked on doors for 3 months almost every day, with no door spared, be it Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, or any other political persuasion.
