Akshata Murty to actively help hubby PM Rishi Sunak’s poll campaign

London, May 27 (PTI) Akshata Murty, Britain’s Indian First Lady, has begun getting proactive as her husband hit the campaign trail in a tough race ahead for the governing Conservatives, starting with a supportive message to say she’s with him “every step of the way” hours after a rain-soaked Rishi Sunak announced July 4 as the general election date on the steps of 10 Downing Street.

The 44-year-old businesswoman has used her Instagram handle to post campaign messages in favour of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is hoping to prove all the pre-election surveys forecasting a drubbing for the Tories wrong.

The couple, who met while studying at Stanford University in the US and are among the richest incumbents of Downing Street in history in large part down to Murty’s Infosys shares worth millions of pounds, are expected to work as a team through the course of the just over five-week-long campaign.

“People always ask us – ‘What is the thing you have most in common?’ It’s not just our shared love of watching ‘Friends’ reruns and eating Spanish food. It’s the values that we share,” reads a joint statement signed “Akshata and Rishi” on social media.

“We share the belief that hard work should decide where you go in life. We share the belief that it takes bold action to make a difference. We share the belief that our children will inherit a better world than the one we share today,” it reads.

It was posted on Instagram over the weekend soon after a campaign stop at Harrow in north London, where the duo said the focus was on the “values that matter".

During her time at 10 Downing Street – where the family settled in October 2022 on Sunak being chosen Conservative Party leader, Murty has been hosting “Lessons at 10” for schoolchildren to learn more about life behind the iconic black door on the most famous street in London.

Last week, just as the snap summer election date was revealed by her husband, she hosted a special event to commemorate the D-Day Landings of World War II that laid the foundations for the victory of the Allied Forces against Nazi Germany.

Accustomed to a more behind the scenes role, Murty has often stepped up to the forefront in support of her husband’s premiership since a surprise debut on the political stage in October last year when she introduced “best friend” Sunak for his first speech as British Prime Minister to the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester.

“Rishi and I met when we were 24 when we were both studying abroad in America. Right from the very beginning, I was struck by two things about him… his deep love for his home, the United Kingdom, and his sincere desire to ensure as many people as possible have a chance to have the opportunities he was lucky enough to have had. It completely energised him. Being with Rishi was the easiest decision of my life,” she said at the time.

Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and author Sudha Murty, had claimed her decision to make the speech had surprised their daughters Krishna, 12, and Anoushka, 11. Now, with the general election campaign set to gather momentum in the coming weeks, the Sunak family is expected to be out in full force to support the country's first Prime Minister of Indian heritage to appeal to voters across the UK for a fresh mandate. PTI