Former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Monday, 18 July, topped the latest round of voting held among Conservative Party members of the British Parliament as part of the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
The British-Indian former finance minister received 115 votes in the third round of voting, far higher than the 82 votes garnered by the runner-up, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt.
Sunak has gained 14 more votes since the last round, in which his tally had been 101.
Mordaunt was followed by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at the third position with 71 votes, and former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch at 58 votes.
Tom Tugendhat, a Tory backbencher and the chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, was knocked out of the race as his tally dwindled from 32 to 31 votes.
The magic number is seen as 120 as the candidate who garners the support of at least 120 of Conservative Party parliamentarians, is guaranteed a spot in the final shortlist of two candidates who then contest each other for the Tory membership votes.
The next round of voting is expected to be held on Tuesday to further narrow down the list of contenders, with votes scheduled until only two candidates remain in the fray by Thursday.
The final two will then fight to win over the Conservative Party's membership of around 160,000 eligible voters so that they cast postal ballots in their favour.
The new Tory leader and prime minister is due to be announced on 5 September.
Boris Johnson's Govt Wins Trust Vote Called in Itself
Incumbent British PM Boris Johnson's government on Monday won a confidence vote that it had called in itself, with members of the governing Conservative Party voting in support of the dispensation to avoid a national election.
The government won the vote by 349 to 238.
The trust vote was held after the opposition Labour Party demanded that Johnson be replaced immediately by a caretaker leader until his successor is elected by the Conservative Party.
Johnson had stepped down as Tory chief earlier in July, saying that he would stay on as the PM till the next premier is elected. His resignation had come after a spate of resignations from the British Cabinet, citing his leadership as a reason.
A month before that, Johnson had successfully survived a trust vote by winning the support of 211 out of 359 Conservative Party lawmakers.
(With inputs from PTI)
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