London: The Conservative party candidate for the high-profile London mayoral polls is using leaflets with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image to woo Indian-origin voters against his veteran Labour party rival who is the son of Pakistani immigrants.
Zac Goldsmith, an Oxford-educated millionaire, is the Conservative party candidate for the race for the polls on May 5 to replace Boris Johnson when his term comes to end.
He is up against Labour's Sadiq Khan, a politician who proudly proclaims his working class roots as the son of a Pakistani bus driver.
In an effort to grab an edge over Khan, Goldsmith's team has been using a leaflet with an image of him shaking hands with the Indian prime minister alongside British counterpart David Cameron during Modi's visit to the UK last November.
The message reads: "Standing up for the British Indian community."
However, the 41-year-old's tactic seems to have backfired as he was accused of a Hindu bias by only mentioning festivals of "Diwali, Navratri and Janamashtami" in reference to his "strong engagement with the Indian community."
The Goldsmith team also issued tailored letters for London's Tamil-origin population which tend to have expensive jewellery in their homes, warning that Khan is planning a "wealth tax on family jewellery."
The letter reads: "The first job of the Mayor of London is to protect Londoners. I recognise that far too often, Tamil households are targeted for burglary due to families owning gold and valuable family heirlooms.
"As mayor I will stand up to focus the Metropolitan Police on this issue and will fight to keep you, your family and your homes secure."
Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, branded his techniques as "scaremongering" to win votes.
She told the 'Daily Mirror': "The Tories are running a desperate and negative campaign for Mayor of London. It's no surprise that they have resorted to sending out these scaremongering and totally dishonest leaflets."
Goldsmith is the son of the late Sir James Goldsmith and brother of Jemima Goldsmith, formerly Jemima Khan when she was married to Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan.
A spokesperson for Zac Goldsmith said: "Khan experimented with (Labour leader Jeremy) Corbyn and helped elect a Labour leadership who want a new tax on family heirlooms, including jewellery - if he is allowed to experiment with London from City Hall he represents a threat to the economic security of every family in our City."
The London mayoral race so far seems to be pretty close between the two main candidates and is likely to pick up speed next month.
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