Britain's political parties have fielded a large number of Indian-origin candidates in the general election today to woo voters from the Indian diaspora in the UK which is set to play a crucial role in the polls.


The last elections in 2010 had set a new record with eight Indian-origin candidates, including two women -- ruling Conservatives' Priti Patel and Opposition Labour's Valerie Vaz -- being elected to the British Parliament. Seema Malhotra for Labour added to that women in politics presence when she went on to win a by-election in 2011.


In the 2015 election, each of the major parties have pledged a larger presence of ethnic minority MPs within their fold in an attempt to attract a larger chunk of the ethnic minority vote.