London: Former British Home Minister Preeti Patel can stake claim to replace Rishi Sunak as the leader of the opposition in the British Parliament (House of Commons). Indian-origin British MP Patel, 52, won the Witham seat in Essex despite his Conservative party’s crushing defeat in the general election earlier this month, according to UK media reports. Sunak announced his resignation on 5 July after the Labor Party’s victory. Sunak will now attend the State Opening of Parliament as interim leader of the opposition.
“Daily Telegraph” in its news quoted a source close to the senior MP as saying, “Preeti tried her best to support others. She believes that her colleagues need time to digest the results of the general election and she does not want potential candidates to speak out in the media. However, the source said Patel has put together a team, as several colleagues last week urged him to contest the election as opposition leader.