There are numerous people in the race now that Boris Johnson has decided to retire. Rishi Sunak is thought to be a strong candidate among the contenders.
He has been in the spotlight not just for his pandemic policies but also for the infamous “Partygate” affair, which ultimately caused a crisis in the Johnson administration.
A Tory MP needs the support of eight of their peers to be eligible to run in this election. A series of secret votes are held to choose a leader if more than two MPs nominate themselves and receive the required nominations.
There are several candidates hoping to succeed Johnson and go into 10 Downing Street. These people are Nadhim Zahawi, Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt, Ben Wallace, Rishi Sunak, and Penny Mordaunt.
Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of N.R. Narayana Murthy, the creator of Bengaluru-based IT powerhouse Infosys, came into the public eye when he was appointed the UK’s treasury chief in 2020.
He was in charge of guiding the British economy through its biggest pandemic-related economic crisis during this time.
According to Associated Press, Rishi Sunak also developed strategies to aid organizations and employees in coping with the pandemic’s effects. He also disclosed a 410 billion pound scheme for job retention.
He and Johnson were fined by the British Police for going to a birthday celebration at Downing Street when the area was under lockdown.
He received harsh criticism for 2021’s tax-and-spend budget as well as for failing to provide households with enough cost-of-living assistance.
In addition, he came under scrutiny after it was revealed that Sunak Murthy had kept his US green card while working for the British government and that Akshata Murthy, his wife and Narayana Murthy’s daughter, had avoided paying taxes on her foreign income.
Together with the former UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid, Sunak has resigned from the Boris Johnson administration. He was said to have argued over expenditure with Prime Minister Johnson as well. Sunak stated in his letter of resignation.
Sunak was born to Indian immigrants from East Africa who settled in the UK. He studied in Oxford and went to the Winchester College elite school.
