MSU alumnus elected to 700 years old Hull City Council in the UK

Vadodara: An alumnus of MS University has become the first Indian origin councillor to get elected to Britain’s Hull City Council.
Abhimanyu Singh Ranawat, who did his schooling from city-based Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s school and later completed bachelors and masters in political science from MSU, bucked the national trend and took the Avenues seat in Kingston upon Hull, which is over 700-years-old council.
When results of the local government elections were declared in the UK on Friday, the Liberal Democrats lost only three seats in the whole country, the first of which was taken by Abhimanyu. His victory saved the day for the Labour party which suffered heavy losses in almost every part of Britain due to its position on Brexit.
MP Diana Johnson had campaigned actively for Abhimanyu and he had also got full support from former vice-chancellor of MSU Lord Bhikhu Parekh.
While Ami Ravat, municipal councillor recollected how she and Abhimanyu were selected as prestigious British Chevening Scholars in 1999, former general secretary and vice president of MSU Students Union Rutvij Joshi recollected how he had campaigned last year.
Talking to TOI, Abhimanyu, 44, remembered the time he spent in Vadodara with his friends including royal scion Samarjitsinh Gaekwad.
Hailing from Rohal Khurd in Madhya Pradesh, where his father Kunwar Digvijay Singh, was one of the leading figures of the Jan Sangh in the region, Abhimanyu had went to UK to study international law and politics at the University of Hull.
Avenues area in Hull is considered to be one of the most prestigious areas as some leading figures reside there. Historically it was the area where famous writer-poet Philip Larkin, Anthony Mingella, director of Oscar winning movie English Patient, Amy Johnson the first female solo pilot to cover journey from Britain to Australia.
Politically too, Hull is very important not just for British history but that of the western civilisation. In 1642, the famous English Civil War started from a small public house called ‘Ye Olde White Heart’ which is situated near the Guildhall where the councillors meet. The English Civil War established parliamentary democracy in Britain and later on inspired American War of Independence, French revolution and the Russian revolution.