London’s queen of suburbs gets a Punjabi touch

The only one other Asian has made it to the Ealing, Mohammed Aslam, is a Punjabi as well, from Pakistani Punjab. And of the 18 Indians, only one, Madhavrao Nivritti Patil, is a Maharashtra-origin councillor; all others are from Punjab.

While the polls were held on May 2, the new councillors assumed charge only two days ago. Polls for the Mayor’s post are scheduled for May 26, and the victorious Punjabis are lobbying for the Deputy Mayor’s post, sources in Ealing, nine kms from Heathrow, said.

Southall, which is one of the six districts of the borough alongwith Ealing, Hanwell, Acton, Greenford and Northolt, has returned Piara Singh Khabra thrice in a row. The Labour Party has convincingly won the Ealing Council, which lies at the heart of west London, with 48 seats, leaving Conservatives at 17 and Liberal Democrats at four seats only. Each of the three parties had contested all 69 posts each, while the Green Party and other fringe groups had also put up candidates.

Of Ealing’s 3.11 lakh population, ethnic minorities make up a third. Indians are the largest minority accounting for 16 per cent while blacks account for 7 per cent with majority of Caribbean origin. Popularly known as ‘‘Queen of the suburbs’’, Ealing borough currently has a Punjab-origin Ranjeet Dheer as its Mayor. He has again been elected councillor, this time from Lady Margaret Ward which also returned two more Punjab-origin representatives. So the next time you go visiting Ealing’s legendary studios or Ealing Broadway, one of the biggest shopping centres in London, just feel at home since you are in Punjabi country.