South Asian councillors stopped from standing in local elections
By BARNIE CHOUDHURY Apr 28, 2023
LABOUR is "institutionally, structurally and systematically racist” and taking south Asian voters for granted, councillors and party members have told Eastern Eye.
They are urging the Labour leadership at national level to investigate why Hindus and Muslims have been barred from standing in next week’s [4 May] local elections.
Labour’s national body, the NEC, has stopped 18 sitting councillors in Leicester from contesting seats anywhere in the city – 10 of whom are south Asian, including all the Hindus.
“This is outrageous and completely and utterly racist,” said one unnamed Labour member.
“It’s institutional racism because it’s happening all the time with the national party interfering with local politics.
“They said it’s because we lost two local seats in by-elections which were safe Labour seats, but we know it’s because they want people who say ‘yes’ to everything.
“Every one of the councillors who were deselected didn’t like what Peter [city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby] is doing.
“He’s a control freak and won’t put up with anybody who goes against him.
“Peter blamed the NEC, but we know he did it because he wants complete and utter control.”
Sources have told this newspaper that Labour is rooting out troublemakers and those who will not “toe the party line unequivocally”.
Eastern Eye understands that in Leicester, councillors wanted to get rid of the elected mayoral system, which exists in the city, and return to a traditional local authority decision-making structure.
We have been told that both party whips and the mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, threatened rebels with deselection if they were disloyal.
Sir Peter Soulsby (Photo by Darren Staples/Getty Images)
One of those deselected, Ruma Ali, said on the eve of the vote, Soulsby called her into his office where she made clear that she was not a rebel.
Ali said that Soulsby promised her she had been selected, yet she was dumped.
“It's a corrupt system,” said Ali.
“We'll see on polling day what damage Labour have done, I've been a Labour supporter my whole life, they have no value for loyalty.
Ruma Ali (Photo: Twitter/@ru17maa)
“They have no value for good people and the amount of people that rang me and said, we can't believe you've been deselected.
“When I think about it, I think, is it because I was too good?
“Is it because they don't want you to advance? They want to keep you at a level.
“A job should be given based on merit and hard work, not because you're white.”
Investigation call
Eastern Eye has seen an email where one councillor, who is standing in the local elections, Gurinder Singh Sandhu, wrote to the council’s head of standards demanding a police investigation.
Gurinder Singh Sandhu (Pic credit: Leicester City Council)
“I am not a legal expert, but it seems like bribery was used to retain the current mayoral system on the 9th March 2023,” he wrote.
“I believe the police should be made aware and they should investigate these claims.”
It is not the first time Labour’s ruling body has deselected sitting councillors.
In November 2021, the NEC stopped four south Asian councillors from Sandwell in the West Midlands running for office under Labour.
The regional Labour Party in the east Midlands has gone further and suspended a Muslim councillor who has served the party for more than 40 years.
In Nottingham, Hassan Ahmed, is taking legal action against Labour after being suspended because the party accused him of bringing it into disrepute, something he vehemently denies.
He remains loyal to Labour and will not agree with others who say that the party is racist.
Hassan Ahmed (Pic credit: Nottingham City Council)
“I was quite clearly, shocked, very sad, upset after all my 40 to 43 years in the Labour Party,” he said.
“I've always fought within the party and have not gone public.
“I have gone public now but only after my expulsion, and again I'm not criticising anyone from the national Labour Party, I'm talking about locally and I’m fighting the injustice to me.
“The Labour Party, when we are training our new people who want to join the party or represent the party, we say to them, look, this is the only party which claims to fight for and believe in inclusivity, social justice and equality.
“It’s in all our manifesto commitments, and that's what we talk about.
“But if we then start going against these kinds of principles and values, then we have to speak out.
“My fight has always been within the party.”
Unrepresentative leadership
Some councillors in Nottingham, who wished to remain anonymous, told this newspaper that at leadership level the council was “unrepresentative of the city we serve”, and that “the white members don’t want a Muslim leader”.
“I got a WhatsApp message from a councillor,” said one, “which slagged off an Asian colleague.
“It was really vile and racist, but if I report it, I’ll get into trouble, so I’m keeping my mouth shut.
“I ain’t going to say anything because they’ll all gather round the person and brush it off as banter, so what’s the point?”
Sources have also accused Labour of “colonial tactics of divide and rule”.
Another Asian Labour member in Leicester said, “You remember when India was divided, and the Brits pitted Muslims against Hindus against Sikhs to create India and Pakistan?
“Well, that’s exactly what’s going on here.
“They’ve got rid of all the Hindus, and I’m telling you after what happened last summer with the disturbances, this is not good for Leicester.
“We were supposed to become harmonious again, but all this political divide-and-rule is making things tense here.”
The situation is not much better in Nottingham (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
In Nottingham, sources believe there is another reason for Councillor Ahmed’s suspension.
“He was being tipped to be the next leader of the council because he kept on criticising the leadership and the way they kept on making mistakes,” said one councillor.
“But they won’t want an Asian in charge.
“It goes right to Labour at national level, doesn’t it? When you look at our front bench you don’t see a lot of south Asians do you?”
Those who spoke to Eastern Eye have warned that this will lead to Labour losing the south Asian vote in the next general election.
“Keir’s fighting for control of the party from the left and those who think it was wrong to expel Jeremy [Corbyn],” one councillor in Nottingham said.
“He needed every friend he had because there’ll be places in England which will rely on the Asian vote.
“In Leicester when Labour imposed Claudia Webb to replace Keith Vaz, her vote went down.
“With so many deselections and defections you can bet that next week we’ll lose many seats.”
Colonial divisions
Eastern Eye has reported previously that politics in the UK has become divided along the lines of south Asian nationality.
Labour has still refused to apologise for courting the Pakistani vote in the 2021 Batley and Spen by election.
Some of its own MPs questioned the tactic of using a photograph of former prime minister, Boris Johnson, shaking hands with Indian premier, Narendra Modi, with the words “Don’t risk a Tory who is not on your side”.
One Labour member in Leicester said, “They’ve alienated so many Indians, who’ve defected to the Tories.
“You’d have thought they’d have learnt lessons, but they keep on making the same mistakes.
“The Tory party are supposed to be the racist ones, but they’ve got a record now of promoting Asians into top jobs in government, and now they’ve even got one of us as prime minister.
“What are we doing? All the big jobs have gone to white MPs, and in this day and age that’s not right.
“Our parents and grandparents were told that Labour was the party for Asian immigrants, and like most of their promises it was all lies because they take our vote for granted and give us jack s**t in return.”
We put questions to the Labour leadership, the east Midlands regional party and Leicester City Council, but they refused to comment.
In an interview with his local paper, the Leicester Mercury, Soulsby said, "That is absolutely bizarre, it really is.
“The selection was undertaken by people who were entirely impartial in the way in which they approached it and, certainly not was I in a position, nor did I, promise anybody a selection or deselection.
"I had no part in it whatsoever and that was made very clear to the candidates.
“It was an impartial process."
Councillor Ahmed from Nottingham has fought and beaten his party before.
In 1995, he took legal action when he was suspended.
Two years later, Labour not only reinstated him but paid for his court costs.
“I'm not somebody who breaks party discipline, I'm not somebody who wants to see our party lose elections,” he said.
“I'm somebody who's always fought for and will fight for the Labour Party.
“I’ve done that in my 42 years, and I'm not going to do otherwise now.
“When people come up with these complaints, the party need to think carefully, what's the motive behind it.
“They should look at my case, that's the role of the party leadership.”
Lauren Sánchez didn’t need a red carpet to mark her pre-wedding celebration, just a close circle of friends and the charm of Paris. Days before tying the knot with Jeff Bezos, the former TV anchor turned aviation entrepreneur spent a laid-back but lavish weekend in the French capital with a dozen women she calls her pillars of strength.
The guest list was anything but ordinary. Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry, Eva Longoria, and a few other familiar faces from business, entertainment, and media joined Sánchez for what looked like a celebration of sisterhood rather than a spectacle. Over the course of two days, the group dined at chic spots like Lafayette’s and cruised through the city on a private boat, all while keeping things relatively low-key by celebrity standards.
From clinking espresso martinis to dancing to Earth, Wind & Fire, the vibe was expensive, chill, and relaxed. The celebration wrapped with a surprise vanilla meringue cake and laughter under the Paris sky.
Sánchez shared heartfelt moments on Instagram, calling her friends “the women who’ve lifted me up and shaped my heart.” The photos, mostly in black and white, showed candid rooftop laughs and cosy robe moments, far from the polished party shots one might expect.
Inside Lauren Sánchez’s Paris bachelorette Instagram/laurenwsanchez
Her outfit choices, too, while expensive, leaned into romantic minimalism. A short white Oscar de la Renta dress with 3D florals and a vintage pink Chanel bag added soft glamour to the weekend.
Heartfelt moments and low-key glam defined Sánchez’s pre-wedding celebration in Paris Instagram/laurenwsanchez
Sánchez and Bezos, who went public in 2019, got engaged in 2023 on board his yacht Koru, where he proposed with a rare 20-carat pink diamond worth approximately £15 million (₹160 crore). Their wedding is expected in June on the coast of Venice, Italy, although they’ve been tight-lipped about the specifics. Italian officials have already reassured locals that the ceremony will not disrupt the city.
A candid moment with Sánchez and her closest friendsInstagram/laurenwsanchez
Beyond the headlines and designer outfits, Sánchez’s celebration in Paris was about a woman pausing to honour the relationships that helped her grow, before stepping into a new chapter as Mrs. Bezos.
Ever walked into a cinema, popcorn in hand, all hyped for a big new Hindi release – only to realise, halfway through, that you have seen the exact same story before, just in another language? That weird sense of déjà vu has become all too familiar for Bollywood audiences in recent years, with one remake after another. Many are based on South Indian hits.
From Vikram Vedha to Shehzada, Bholaa to Selfiee, Bollywood seems to be treating South Indian blockbusters like a catalogue to borrow from. But here is the problem – most of them did not work. Not just with critics, but at the box office too. Which raises the obvious question: if the originals were such big hits, why can’t the Hindi versions strike gold?
The numbers do not lie Let us look at the figures.
The Tamil film Vikram Vedha (2017) was made on a budget of £103,695 (₹11 million) and earned £5.66 million (₹600 million). It had strong writing, originality, and standout performances. The 2022 Hindi remake starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, despite slick production, was a costly misfire.
Bholaa, a remake of Kaithi, leaned too heavily on visual effects and forgot the raw, gritty storytelling that made the original shine. Made for £8.8 million (₹1 billion), it only grossed £9.7 million (₹1.1 billion) worldwide. Compare that with Kaithi, made for £2.2 million (₹250 million), which earned over £9.3 million (₹1.05 billion) – without big stars or CGI. This pattern keeps repeating itself.
Selfiee, based on Malayalam hit Driving Licence, flopped. Shehzada tried to replicate the success of Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and failed miserably. Sarfira, based on Soorarai Pottru, came and went without impact. Even Baby John (a version of Theri) and Deva (inspired by Mumbai Police) could not turn strong originals into Hindi box office hits.
Ajay Devgn in Bholaa
Star power is not enough These numbers paint a clear picture: the remakes are not connecting. But what about star power? Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Kartik Aaryan – surely such big names should guarantee success? Unfortunately, it is not that simple anymore.
Audiences are smarter now. Thanks to streaming platforms, dubbed versions and social media buzz, many have already seen the originals – or at least know the storyline. So when the Hindi version arrives, it often feels stale.
Hrithik Roshan in Vikram Vedha
What is missing from the remakes? Successful films rely on many elements – chemistry between the leads, emotional tone, pacing – things you cannot script or transplant.
Take Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. The chemistry between Silambarasan TR and Trisha felt electric, rooted in the film’s deeply emotional story of unrequited love. The Hindi remake Ekk Deewana Tha, with Prateik Babbar and Amy Jackson, lacked that connection.
Okkadu had raw energy, with Mahesh Babu anchoring the emotional weight. Ghilli, its Tamil counterpart, had similar intensity with Vijay’s charismatic presence and high-octane action. But the Hindi version Tevar lacked the same punch and raw emotion.
Similarly, Theri worked because of Vijay’s stardom, Atlee’s direction, and its emotionally driven story. Baby John has not captured that same feeling.
Mahesh Babu in Okkadu
Audiences want originality Here is the real kicker – audiences are not rejecting South Indian cinema. In fact, they are embracing it. Baahubali 2, the Pushpa and KGF franchises, RRR, Kantara – all became massive pan-India hits. The appetite for regional content is real.
What people are rejecting is lazy filmmaking – the idea that simply changing the language, inflating the budget, and casting a big Bollywood name is enough.
What works today is originality. Films like 12th Fail and Article 15 resonated because they told new stories. Even blockbusters like Pathaan and Jawan succeeded by playing to their own strengths – not copying someone else’s.
RRR
A call for change So what should Bollywood do? The answer is simple: focus on originality.
Stop leaning on South Indian remakes. Start backing fresh, innovative stories that speak to today’s diverse audience. The success of South Indian films lies in their ability to connect emotionally, to create real characters and tell untold stories. Bollywood needs to find that magic again.
In the end, remakes may seem like a safe bet – but they are not always the solution. Why settle for déjà vu when you can create something unforgettable?
The audience has evolved. Maybe now, it is time the industry asked itself: has it?X: @GeorgeViews
On Sunday, 25 May, music lovers in Middlesex and beyond will have the rare opportunity to experience an unforgettable evening with the legendary Anup Jalota at the Beck Theatre, Hayes. Known as the “Bhajan Samrat” (Emperor of Bhajans), Anup Jalota is a celebrated Indian singer and musician famed for his soul-stirring bhajans and ghazals that have touched millions worldwide. This culturally rich concert promises to bring the spiritual and poetic essence of Indian devotional music to life, right in the heart of Middlesex.
Whether you are deeply connected to Indian classical and devotional music or simply curious to explore a new musical tradition, this concert offers a perfect blend of spirituality, art, and heartfelt emotion. Held at the well-regarded Beck Theatre on Grange Road, this event is expected to draw a diverse audience eager to witness Anup Jalota’s mesmerizing performance.
Anup Jalota has been a towering figure in Indian music for over four decades. His unique ability to fuse the spiritual with the musical has earned him immense respect and a devoted fanbase not just in India, but internationally. Known for his deep, soothing voice and flawless diction, Jalota’s bhajans invoke a sense of peace and devotion, making them timeless classics.
In addition to bhajans, Anup Jalota is renowned for his ghazal renditions – poetic songs that express love, longing, and life's philosophical musings. His mastery in delivering both these forms of music with emotion and authenticity is unmatched. Audiences attending the Beck Theatre concert can expect to be transported through a variety of moods, from serene devotion to contemplative reflection.
The concert promises to be a carefully curated showcase of some of Anup Jalota’s most beloved bhajans and ghazals, as well as a few surprises for fans. The Beck Theatre, with its excellent acoustics and intimate setting, will provide the perfect atmosphere for a close connection between the artist and his audience.
Attendees can look forward to an evening filled with spiritual melodies and poetic beauty that celebrate Indian heritage and music traditions. It’s an ideal occasion for families, music enthusiasts, and anyone interested in experiencing a slice of India’s rich cultural tapestry.
The Beck Theatre is located at Grange Road, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 2UE. It is easily accessible by public transport and offers ample parking facilities nearby.
Tickets for this much-awaited concert are available on the Beck Theatre’s official website at www.becktheatre.org.uk. Given the popularity of Anup Jalota’s performances, early booking is strongly recommended to avoid disappointment.
Keep ReadingShow less
Ananya Panday gets candid about body shaming on Lilly Singh’s podcast
Ananya Panday is no stranger to the spotlight, but she’s also tired of being stuck under a microscope. In a recent chat with Lilly Singh on her podcast Shame Less, the actor spoke honestly about the constant criticism of her body and the double standards women face in the film industry.
Ananya recalled the early days of her career when, at 18, she was mocked for being too thin. Terms like “chicken legs” and “matchstick” were thrown at her regularly. “They said I had no boobs, no butt, like a flat-screen,” she shared. Fast forward a few years, and as her body naturally changed, new rumours popped up, but this time accusing her of undergoing cosmetic surgery. “Now they say I’ve had my butt done. You can never win,” she said.
What hits harder for Ananya is that this scrutiny often comes from other women. “The harshest comments I get are from women. I rarely see this happening to male actors,” she said, pointing out the gender gap in how public figures are judged.
But Ananya doesn’t shy away from taking responsibility either. She admitted that Bollywood films, including some of her own, have pushed unrealistic beauty ideals. “We’ve shown women waking up with perfect hair and makeup. That’s not real life. I’ve been part of that narrative, and I’m trying to be more aware of it now,” she said. Off camera, she tries to keep things real, reminding her followers that what they see on screen isn’t always the truth.
This honesty is, in fact, a shift in Ananya’s journey, from someone who once felt pressured to fit in, to an actor willing to question the norms she’s grown up with. Her recent work also reflects that change. From light-hearted romances to more grounded roles like her turn as a lawyer in Kesari: Chapter 2, Ananya is clearly making deliberate choices.
Women in the public eye are constantly judged, but it’s time to break that cycle. “If I talk about it, maybe one other girl will feel less alone,” she said. That, perhaps, is the quiet power behind her loudest statement yet.
Keep ReadingShow less
Remaining matches will be held at six venues, with Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Dharamsala removed from the schedule.
The Indian Premier League resumes on Saturday, eight days after it was suspended due to escalating tensions along the India-Pakistan border.
Most foreign players who left the country after the suspension have now returned. The tournament was halted on May 8 during a match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala, which was stopped after 10.1 overs when rockets landed 80km away. That game will now be played on 24 May in Jaipur.
Remaining matches will be held at six venues, with Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Dharamsala removed from the schedule.
The Pakistan Super League also restarts on Saturday. It had considered relocating to the UAE before suspension. Its final is now on 25 May, with matches limited to Rawalpindi and Lahore. Only Multan has lost hosting rights.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the first of 13 remaining IPL league games, followed by playoffs from 29 May and the final on 3 June.
The revised IPL schedule overlaps with England’s ODI series against West Indies starting 29 May. Cricket West Indies released Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd to remain in India. Some players, including Mitchell Starc and Sam Curran, have opted not to return. Temporary replacements are allowed.