Rishi Sunak wins first round of voting for UK PM post. Now what?

A person of Indian origin at the top post of the country's former colonisers is not an everyday thing for either Britain or India. But if things go the way they're going, 10 Downing Street might soon have Rishi Sunak as its first Indian-origin resident. He just won the first round of voting for the top post. The world is glued to the drama. India, more so.

What were the results? 

1. Rishi Sunak: 88 votes 
2. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt: 67 votes
3. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss: 50 votes
4. Kemi Badenoch: 40
5. Tom Tugendhat: 37
6. Suella Braverman: 32 
7. Nadhim Zahawi: 25
8. Jeremy Hunt: 18
9. Zahawi and Hunt lost out on the race after receiving less than 30 votes in the contest.
10. The final results will be announced on September 5, 2022. 

The process: 

1. The contest is conducted by the 1922 Committee for the Conservative party. 
2. It is a three-stage contest that involves nomination, elimination, and final selection.
3. There will be another round of voting on Thursday where the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated. 
4. The voting and elimination rounds will continue till there are only two candidates left. 
5. BBC says the final round is expected to end by next week, with some 1,60,000 MPs voting for the next Prime Minister of Britain. 

Recap: The race to become the UK's Prime Minister started after Boris Johnson lost the support of several members of his party and Cabinet. Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid were among those who resigned from their respective office citing Johnson's poor leadership. 

Boris Johnson's fall from grace came due to several scandals and controversies from the lockdown party, ignoring sexual assault allegations against his deputy whip to his handling the economy. Johnson resigned from office last week. 

What are Rishi Sunak's chances of becoming UK PM? So far, the Tory leader has the highest support to become the next UK PM, but it isn't without a set of obstacles. 

Sunak is not blemishless: Sunak too has been embroiled in several controversies that are being used by the opposition Labour party. He is being blamed for the increased taxes and the rising cost of living in the UK. Moreover, his wife, Akshata Murthy's tax scandal is still fresh in the minds of his critics. On top of that, an old video of him saying he doesn't have "working class friends" has brought enough damage to his reputation. He is also not completely untouched by the partygate scandal that undid Johnson's tenure as PM.

It needs to be seen who will win the race.