ANJIM: Five persons of Goan origin will be battling it out on Thursday to enter the British House of Commons. Besides the Vaz siblings - Labour MPs Keith and Valerie - there is young Suella Fernandes who is a Conservative candidate seeking her maiden entry into the British parliament; Rabi Martins a Liberal Democrat candidate in the race from Hemel Hempstead and Wisdom da Costa who is an Independent contesting from Windsor.
By *ALEXANDRE MONIZ BARBOSA* | 06 May, 2015, 01:14AM IST A- A+ Share on facebook <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#>Share on twitter <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#>Share on google_plusone_share <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#>Share on pinterest_share <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#>More Sharing Services <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#> <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#> 5 <http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Calangute-Uccasaim-Varca-and-Cansaulim-vie-for-a-seat-in-British-House-of-Commons/88168.html#> Of these five, Keith and Valerie Vaz and Suella Fernandes have the best chances of making it to the House of Commons, giving Goa the biggest number of British MPs ever. Fernandes, a barrister, almost didn't make it as a candidate in the election. She sought the Conservative party ticket from four other constituencies and was a finalist in Uxbridge, Bexhill and Battle, Croydon South and Braintree, losing out in the final stretch in all these, until the Fareham Conservatives endorsed her nomination. For Fernandes, this was actually good news as the seat she is now a candidate from is a safe Conservative seat, which was won by Mark Hoban, who has stepped down from politics, with a majority of over 17,000. Politics is not news to Fernandes. In 2005 she had contested opposite another Goan, longtime Labour MP Keith Vaz, and lost. "I've been a political campaigner since my mum roped me into delivering her leaflets for her council elections in the early 1990s. I stood for parliament in the 2005 general election against Keith Vaz MP in Leicester East, and after that, in the 2012 Greater London assembly elections supporting Boris Johnson as London mayor," Fernandes says on her website. The Harrow-born barrister, has her origins in Uccasaim. On his selection as candidate Martins says on his website, "I feel honoured to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hemel Hempstead. The combination of the town and the surrounding villages give this constituency a unique character whose potential is not being fully utilised for the benefit of all the residents. Given its location and excellent transport links Hemel Hempstead ought to have been attracting the top national and international companies." Martins, a business consultant and human rights campaigner, has his origins in Varca. Da Costa, who has his roots in Cansaulim, is another candidate with Goan origins and is currently a councillor of Windsor and Maidenhead. While Labour party's Keith Vaz will be seeking re-election from Leicester East, the constituency he has been representing since 1987, his older sibling Valerie Vaz will be hoping to get a second five-year term in the House of Commons from Walsall South. She too is contesting on a Labour ticket. One of Britain's longest serving MPs, Keith Vaz has spent 28 years in parliament and is prompted to the win from Leicester East for the 8th time. He added a dash of Bollywood to his campaign when he got Abhishek Bachchan to join in. "Abhishek was wonderful, and people adored him. He is a close friend, and for him to take time to come to Leicester is truly special. The thousands who came out to Belgrave Road and Uppingham Road were awestruck," Vaz said on his website. Valerie Vaz has spent quite a few years in politics, having been a councillor from 1986 to 1990 in the London Borough of Ealing, and deputy leader from 1988 to 1989. She contested the parliamentary elections in 1987 from Twickenham and the European elections in 1999. "Labour's better plan is needed to tackle a modern housing crisis in which a severe shortage of new homes being built has priced millions of people out of the property market and left many who want to buy, living in private rented accommodation. This is the next stage in Labour's comprehensive programme to tackle our country's housing crisis by building the homes local people need and taking action on rents," said Valerie Vaz on her website. The Vaz siblings have their Goan roots in Calangute. For Pics Keith Vaz, Labour Party, Calangute Valerie Vaz, Labour Party, Calangute Suella Fernandes, Conservative Party, Uccasaim Rabi Martins, Liberal Democrats Party, Varca Wisdom da Costa, Independent, Cansaulim -- DEV BOREM KORUM Gabe Menezes.