London:
Philip Abraham, an Indian journalist from Kerala, has been elected as a Councillor in the UK, becoming the first person of Asian origin to be elected to Loughton Town Council.
Philip Abraham, Editor of Kerala Link, won the election to the Loughton Town Council. Loughton is a vibrant town in the Epping forest district of Essex.
Mr Philip contested as a candidate for the Loughton Residents Association (LRA), a non-political party from the Alderton ward.
All the 18 candidates which LRA fielded for the Town Council won the elections.
The 22-member Loughton Town Council is now controlled by LRA with two Labour, one Conservative and one independent councillors as the opposition.
Loughton was one of the strongholds of British National Party, BNP, with five of its members in the Council after the election held in 2008.
Mr Philip is the first person of Asian origin to be elected to Loughton Town Council where the migrant population is less than 2 per cent.
"Initially I was bit sceptical about door to door canvassing in a ward which elected two BNP candidates in the last election. However, I conducted a strong campaign and obtained 606 votes out of 902 polled," Mr Philip said.
"I did not encounter any hostile attitude towards me and I was overwhelmed by the warmth and support received from the residents of Alerton," he said.
VK Krishna Menon, India's former defence minister, was the first Malayalee to become a Councillor in Britain. He was a Labour Councillor for the Borough of St Pancras from 1934 to 1939.
According to Mr Philip, the current Malayalee councillors are Dr Omana Gangadharan from Newham, Roy Abraham from Chesham, Raj Rajendran from Croydon, Manju Shahul-Hameed from Croydon and Tom Aditya from Bradley Stoke.