London Mayoral Polls: How Close Is the Fight Between Pakistan Origin Sadiq Khan and Indian Origin Tarun Gulati

The Londoners are all to elect a new Mayor and and businessman Tarun Ghulati  has emerged as one of the major  contenders against the incumbent Sadiq Khan for the election. 63-year-old Tarun Ghulati is the only Indian-origin candidate among the 13 individuals competing for the position of the mayor. Ghulati has lived in several countries spread across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and the United Kingdom and has worked in six of them. He has previously worked as an International Manager for Citibank and HSBC. An independent candidate currently working as an investment banker, Gulati declared his candidacy in November 2023.His proposed policies include scrapping ULEZ, removing the congestion charge for weekends and holidays, and abolishing 20mph speed limit zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. Ghulati has also pledged to focus on affordable housing and re-opening police stations in areas with high crime rates. Fighting as an Independent candidate, Gulati  believes his investment expertise is what London needs to revive its fortunes as the “global bank of the world” by attracting the investment it needs.

Battling out against, Gulati is Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party, Formerly MP for Tooting from 2005-2016, Khan first attained office in 2016 when he succeeded Boris Johnson. He’ll be hoping to make history this year by becoming the first politician to serve as the capital’s mayor for three terms. Khan won his second term in the delayed 2021 London Mayoral Election with 40% of first preference votes, consequently winning 55% of votes in a run-off against his Conservative counterpart Shaun Bailey, now Baron Bailey of Paddington. Key policies introduced by Khan as Mayor include expanding rough-sleeping services, the Hopper fare, the Night Tube, and the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), with the Elizabeth Line also having been delivered during his tenure. He has also pledged to £15m in funding for domestic abuse groups. Khan has also served as a Minister of State for Transport under the government of Gordon Brown and before entering politics, worked as a human rights lawyer. The battle between Sadiq and Gulati might look intense like Indo-Pak rivalry but it's not since the latter is fighting as a independent candidate.

Also Read: 'Security, traffic congestion, housing crisis': Indian-origin candidate for London mayoral polls lists priorities

For Sadiq the real competition comes from Tory candidate, Susan Hall who claimed  incumbent Sadiq Khan “can’t stand women” in a strongly-worded attack. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Hall said she had been underestimated due to “sexism and snobbiness”.She accused Mayor Khan of failing to deliver during his two terms in City Hall, saying: “He keeps re-announcing things — it’s all smoke and mirrors and virtue-signalling.”Ms Hall added: “The arrogance of him! Hopefully people will see that. And he can’t stand women. It’s not just me, he talks over us all. So rude!” The London Assembly member claimed Mr Khan ignores her in the lifts of City Hall. She said: “I’ve tried to talk to him. ‘I’ll say ‘hello’ because that’s good manners. But he’s always surrounded by security staff and just looks away.” Polls suggest Mr Khan is on-course for a third term  but one tally last week hinted that he has only a lead of 13 points over his Tory challenger, who is on 33 per cent. The Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London may mean the final result may be far closer than earlier polls - and Ms Hall has talked up her chances of a surprise victory. However, her campaign has been hit with some criticism over her past social media activity, including the fact that she ‘liked’ a post which called Mr Khan a “traitor rat”, and shared another post which referred to him as the mayor of “Londonistan”. The Conservative candidate has repeatedly said she has learned from her mistakes and apologised. Hall has been insisting that victory is still within her grasp. It is a claim she has been making quietly for months. It’s not based on polls – which continue to predict that Labour’s Sadiq Khan will win – but her instinct based on months of door-knocking.