UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged voters to choose the Conservative party as polling booths opened across the country for the general election. Sharing a photo with his wife, Akshata Murty, at a polling booth, the UK PM asked voters to stop the Labour “supermajority”.

“The polls are open. Vote Conservative to stop the Labour supermajority which would mean higher taxes for a generation,” he said in a post on X. The photo showed the couple holding hands and walking to a polling booth.

The polls are open.

Vote Conservative to stop the Labour supermajority which would mean higher taxes for a generation. pic.twitter.com/NPH7lSeDFc

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 4, 2024

The 44-year-old Indian-origin PM faces voter angst towards the incumbent Conservative Party which has been in power for over 14 years under five prime ministers.

Throughout the six-week campaign that followed Mr Sunak’s sudden call for elections, the UK PM has trailed behind 61-year-old Keir Starmer who leads the Labour Party.

“Stop Labour’s supermajority” is the central message Mr Sunak was trying to drive home as he wrapped up his campaign, even as most of the incumbent Conservatives all but conceded defeat in the general election.

“Labour will put up your taxes. Again and again and again,” he posted on social media as the catch-all message to wind up the campaign trail.

Around 40,000 polling booths opened across the country at 7am local time as an estimated 46 million registered voters began turning out to mark a cross next to their chosen candidate on a paper ballot.

Once the votes are cast and the booths officially close at 10 pm local time, the focus shifts to the definitive exit poll soon after which gives a fair snapshot of what can be expected UK-wide. Counting commences up and down the country right away, with the first results expected just before midnight local time.

London:

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty on the last weekend of the general election campaign prayed at London’s iconic BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, popularly known as Neasden Temple.

The couple was greeted with loud cheers as its convoy drove into the grand temple grounds on Saturday evening and went on to perform puja guided by the priests.

It was a pleasure to welcome @RishiSunak and Akshata Murty to #NeasdenTemple today. pic.twitter.com/EEOC9SXccE

— Neasden Temple (@NeasdenTemple) June 29, 2024

After a tour of the grand temple complex and interaction with volunteers and community leaders, cricket fan Sunak began his address to the congregation with a reference to India’s winning the T20 World Cup before speaking about the inspiration he draws from his faith.

“I am Hindu and like all of you, I draw inspiration and comfort from my faith,” he said.

“I was proud to be sworn in as a member of parliament on the ‘Bhagavad Gita’. Our faith teaches us to do our duty and not fret about the outcome as long as one does it faithfully.

“That is what I was brought up to believe by my wonderful and loving parents and that is how I live my life; and that is what I want to pass on to my daughters as they grow up. It is dharma which guides me in my approach to public service,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty, who made their debut in the annual ‘Sunday Times Rich List’ two years ago, have moved up the ranks in the 2024 edition released on Friday thanks to the Akshata Murty’s lucrative Infosys shareholding.

The couple, both 44, have risen from 275th last year to 245th with an estimated wealth of GBP 651 million, making them the “wealthiest people to call 10 Downing Street home”.

Akshata Murty’s earnings are said to far exceed that of her husband as financial statements published in February are quoted to say Rishi Sunak made GBP 2.2 million in 2022-23 compared to AkshataMurty’s estimated GBP 13 million in dividends over the past year.

“The couple’s most valued asset is Akshata Murty’s shareholding in Infosys, a Bangalore-based IT company co-founded by Akshata Murty’s father [Narayan Murthy],” reads the newspaper’s analysis.

“Over the past year, the shares have grown in value by GBP 108.8 million to nearly GBP 590 million. The latest annual report suggests that Murty received about GBP 13 million in dividends during that time – adding to the more than a million pounds she has been paid in previous years. She is poised to receive another GBP 10.5 million this year,” it notes.

The annual compilation of Britain’s wealthiest families is once again topped by the Indian-origin Hinduja family, who saw their wealth increase over the past year to hit GBP 37.196 billion in the wake of the opening of their brand-new luxury OWO Hotel in the heart of London.

The UK-based family’s group of companies, headed by chairman G.P. Hinduja, operates in 48 countries and across several sectors – automotive, oil and speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate.

“It has been a year of expansion through acquisition for the group, made possible in part by growing stock market valuations of the family’s main listed holdings, which have risen to a total of GBP 8.7 billion,” reads the newspaper’s analysis.

The top 10 of the 2024 ‘Sunday Times Rich List’ sees another set of India-born brothers, David and Simon Reuben, build on their wealth to rise to third place from last year’s fourth, with a fortune estimated at around GBP 24.977 billion.

At No. 8 is NRI tycoon of ArcelorMittal steelworks Lakshmi N. Mittal, who slips two places from last year with an estimated GBP 14.921 billion, followed by Vedanta Resources’ industrialist Anil Agarwal at No. 23 with an estimated GBP 7 billion – down one rank from 2023.

Other Indian-origin billionaires on the 2024 list include textiles entrepreneur Prakash Lohia at No. 30 with an estimated GBP 6.23 billion; retail majors Mohsin and Zuber Issa at No. 39 with GBP 5 billion; and pharma chiefs Navin and Varsha Engineer at 58 with GBP 3 billion.

Among the top 100 richest Britons are brothers Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora at No. 65 with GBP 2.682 billion and leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and family ranked 67th with an estimated wealth of GBP 2.6 billion – same as last year.

Fashion industrialist Sunder Genomal, a new entrant in 2023, is ranked 77th with a fortune estimated at GBP 2.214 billion, with hoteliers Jasminder Singh and family coming in at 83 with GBP 2.001 billion.

On the whole, the 36th edition of the rich list reveals the largest fall in billionaires in its history – down from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

“This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall, and some of the global super-rich who came here are moving away,” said the list’s compiler, Robert Watts.

However, moving from millionaire to billionaire on the tally is former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney – now the first UK musician to achieve that status after boosting his wealth by GBP 50 million over last year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)