WATCH: Shivani Raja takes oath on Bhagavad Gita after historic Leicester East win

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."

In a post on X, Raja posted a video of the swearing-in ceremony. “It was an honour to be sworn into Parliament today to represent Leicester East”, she said in the post. “I was truly proud to swear my allegiance to His Majesty King Charles on the Gita”, she added.

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

Raja’s victory was seen as a huge success because Leicester East has been known to be a Labour Party stronghold and it is the first time in 37 years that the constituency has elected a Tory.

Shivani Raja’s parents moved to Leicester from Kenya and India in the late 1970s. She completed her education at De Montfort University, graduating in Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science, and later worked with several major cosmetics brands in England.

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