British PM Boris Johnson accepts PM Modi's invitation to visit India

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to visit India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic call with Johnson where he congratulated the latter for his massive victory in the recently-concluded general elections.

"The Prime Minister (Johnson) spoke to Prime Minister Modi of India, who congratulated him on the result of the General Election,” said a Downing Street spokesperson. Both the leaders resolved to continue working on key issues such as trade, security and defence, and cooperation on climate change ahead of the Conference of Parties 2020 (COP26) climate summit in Glasgow.

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India a major player

During the election campaign, Johnson tried to seek the support of British-Indian voters and visited the famous Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north-west London. "I know Prime Minister Modi is building a new India. And, we in the UK government will support him fully in his endeavour,” said Johnson. In the Conservatives manifesto, the party pledged to forge stronger links with the Commonwealth, “which boasts some of the world's most dynamic economies such as India, with which we already share deep historical and cultural connections,” noted the manifesto.

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The Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Johnson, registered a landslide victory with 365 seats out the 650 which has now set the ball rolling for the impending Brexit. Conservatives needed to cross the halfway mark, i.e. 325 seats, on their own to ensure Brexit by January 31. The huge victory margin is considered as strong support from the people of Britain towards the Brexit since Conservatives had contested the election with a central theme of ‘Get Brexit Done’.

The Labour Party faced its worst defeat since 1935 which left Corbyn with no choice other than relinquish the leadership role. The Labour Party won 203 seats in the general elections and will again lead the opposition in the Parliament. Scottish National Party (SNP) emerged as the third-largest party with 48 seats and the Liberal Democrats, led by Jo Swinson, managed to win 11 seats.

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(With PTI inputs)