Meet Shivani Raja, Indian-Origin UK MP Takes Oath On The Bhagavad Gita

Shivani Raja, a Tory politician of Indian origin, was elected to parliament from Leicester East in recently held UK elections, defeating Rajesh Aggarwal, a former London deputy mayor, with 14,526 votes to his 10,100. She was sworn into the British Parliament at the traditional oath-taking ceremony on July 10. Raja has become the first Conservative MP to win the Leicester East seat in 37 years. She took the ceremonial oath on the holy Bhagavad Gita, an act praised by social media community.

General Election win

“It was an honour to be sworn into Parliament today to represent Leicester East,” the 29-year-old Gujarati businesswoman wrote in a post on X. “I was truly proud to swear my allegiance to His Majesty King Charles on the Gita.”

It was an honour to be sworn into Parliament today to represent Leicester East.

I was truly proud to swear my allegiance to His Majesty King Charles on the Gita.#LeicesterEast pic.twitter.com/l7hogSSE2C

— Shivani Raja MP (@ShivaniRaja_LE) July 10, 2024

An X user commented, ''May Bhagvad Gita enlighten you to govern in the best possible manner.''

Another said, ''Wish you all the very best!! Hope the strength and wisdom of Srimad Bhagvad Gita guides you as you discharge and fulfill your duty to your electorate.''

She won the Leicester seat after beating Labour Party opponent Rajesh Agarwal, the former deputy mayor of London, by a significant 4,426 votes.

Watch her oath-taking ceremony:

Who is Shivani Raja?

Shivani's father is of Gujarati descent and came to Leicester in the 1970s, while her mother is from Rajkot.

She graduated with a Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science degree from De Montfort University, after which she worked in the corporate sector with cosmetic brands in England. The 2024 elections are her political debut, where she displaced the Labour Party from the Leicester East constituency for the first time in almost four decades. 

Her vision as MP for Leicester East includes better roads, schools and hospitals, safer streets, community cohesion, supporting local businesses, creating jobs and opportunities and mitigating illegal immigration, as per her website.