UK Elections: Kannadiga Dr Neeraj Patil loses Narrowly to Education Minister Justine Greening

London: Kannadiga Dr Neeraj Patil, former Mayor of The London Borough of Lambeth lost to Justine Greening, Education Minister of Britain during the British Parliamentary elections held on June 8.

Dr Patil represented the Labour Party in the constituency of Putney and was selected for his credentials which include serving as an emergency doctor at St George’s Hospital, London – used by the residents of Putney. Dr Patil lost by a narrow margin of 1,554 votes to Justine Greening who has managed to retain the seat since 2005.

The counting of the votes was held at Wandsworth Council.

Addressing the gathering after the count, Dr Patil congratulated Justine Greening on her victory and thanked the Labour Party for selecting the first person from Karnataka to contest in the British Parliamentary elections. He also thanked the Labour Party for running a positive campaign on his behalf and said in a light vein “there is no silver or bronze medal in politics.”

The Labour Party had selected 14 Indians, Conservative Party 13 and Liberal Democrats 9 as their Parliamentary candidates. The general elections were called following the Brexit referendum by Prime Minister Theresa May.