Political Strategist, a lawyer by profession and a leader for Labour's British Indians, Manoj Ladwa has attacked Jeremy Corbyn for alienating Indian voters, as Theresa May, the Conservative Leader is found wooing them.
Ladwa, a columnist for Asian Voice as well as a part of the Labour Friends of India reportedly said: “Corbyn is out of sync with British Indians”. He was also an election strategist for Prime Minister Narendra Modi that helped him win the Indian election, and was at the helm of organising Modi's visit to Wembley Arena in November 2015.
1.5 million Indians live in the UK, making up 2.3% of the total UK population. In 2010, Labour had 68% of the ethnic minority vote, compared with the Conservatives’ 16%. But in 2015, nearly half of Hindus and Sikhs said they voted Conservative, as David Cameron wooed them, with party chiefs hoping that they can shift even more over at the election on June 8.
Election chiefs believe that the Asian vote is key to this any party's success and the community is spread all over London, Greater London and many places in Midlands, Yorkshire and the North West.
Theresa May visited the Swaminarayan Temple on Saturday trying to woo the Hindu voters, which she did not do in the initial days. Her manifesto was aimed at the mainstream, but as poll differences narrowed between the Labour party and Conservatives, she was seen mingling with the Indian community in one of UK's renowned Hindu Temples. Moreover, it is clear that Jeremy Corbyns outright refusal to even discuss the impact of Labour's 'Caste proliferation' agenda, has alienated formerly loyal Hindu voters, whereas the Conservative party, which has demonstrated that it is listening to British Hindus.
Ladwa pointing at that effort by the tory party told The Sun newspaper: “By and large the Indian community has been supportive of Labour for decades, but it has now shifted away.”
“Mr Corbyn is no longer fighting for their aspirations because his politics of the hard left doesn’t speak to them.
“Labour must be seen to support aspiration and businesses”.
Mr Ladwa added: “There are no ifs or buts, and no sugar coating the schism that now exists between Labour’s traditional voters and policies that Corbyn champions”.
