Indian Origin Cricketer Sets Sights On UK Prime Ministership
Monty Panesar will run in the constituency of Ealing Southall (X)
Former English spinner Monty Panesar is making a leap from the cricket field to the political arena. Panesar is set to stand for the Workers' Party in the upcoming General Election, as revealed by Workers' Party head George Galloway during an LBC interview.
Monty Panesar, who has Indian lineage, represented England in cricket from 2006 to 2013.
Panesar was born in Luton in 1982 after his family migrated to the UK in 1979. He made his debut for the England Test team against India in Nagpur back in 2012.
Monty Panesar contests from Ealing Southall
Monty Panesar is set to contest in Ealing Southall located in West London during the next election. But this is a constituency that has been a stronghold for the Labour Party under Virendra Sharma since 2007.
Virendra Sharma currently holds a majority of over 16,000 in a constituency that comprises almost one-third of the population as per the latest census.
"I want to be the voice for the workers of this country," Panesar stated in a column for The Telegraph. "My political aspiration is to one day become Prime Minister, where I would work to make Britain a safer and stronger nation. However, my immediate focus is to represent the people of Ealing Southall."
During his career, he played 50 Test matches and took 167 wickets. Following his retirement from cricket, Panesar pursued a sports journalism course at St Mary's University.