Britain's 1.2 million strong Indian-origin voters, the biggest ethnic majority-group in the country, are expected to vote in large numbers today amid indications that a majority of them may vote against Brexit -- or Britain's exit from the European Union.
They also reflect a divided house in line with the wider knife-edge divide in the referendum campaign so far, though a majority are expected to vote against Brexit.
A recent British Election study, ahead of the referendum to decide the UK's future relationship with the European Union (EU), had found that 51.7 per cent of Indian-origin voters are against Brexit, compared to 27.74 per cent in favour of leaving the economic bloc.
However, there was a significant percentage (16.85 per cent) of those who fell into the "Don't Know" category in the study last month and they are likely to hold the key in the referendum, which remains too close to call even on polling day.
The figures are similar across the board among South Asians, with Pakistani-origin voters backing remain 56 to 26 per cent and Bangladeshis 42 to 17.
High-profile Indian-origin politicians in theUK echoed this divide, with UKemployment minister Priti Patel and Infosys chief Narayan Murthy's son-in-law Rishi Sunak batting for Brexit, while other senior MPs like Keith Vaz and Virendra Sharma firmly for Remain.
The British Indian MPs in favour of Brexit issued a strongly-worded letter last month, claiming EU was "damaging" the UK economy and "the pressures this causes means that we have to turn away qualified doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs from non-EU countries who would make a positive contribution to this country".
On the other end of the political spectrum, Alok Sharma, Conservative party MP and British Prime Minister David Cameron's Infrastructure Envoy to India, set up a cross-party "British Indians for IN" group to ensure the undecided votes went in favour of Remain.
"A vote to remain guarantees us continued unfettered access to Europe's free trade single market of 500 million consumers, meaning lower prices, more jobs,increased investment and financial security.
It also means a seat at the table as the EU negotiates some of the biggest trade deals in history - such as the ongoing discussions with the United States, China and India," he had claimed.
On the Brexit end, Priti Patel -- Cameron's Indian Diaspora Champion -- shifted focus to a curry clash as her key weapon against what she described as "unfair immigration rules" that favour EU migrants over non-EU ones from countries like India.
"Ourcurryhouses are becoming the victims of the EU's uncontrolled immigration rules. By voting to leave the EU we can take back control of our immigration policies, save ourcurryhouses and join the rest of the world," she said during her campaign.
(Reopens FGN 48)
Broadening this to appeal to the wider Indian-origin community based in the UK, Priti said: "Temples and gurdwaras have difficulties bringing priests in. Our communities struggle to get visas for kabbadi players to come and share their phenomenal sporting talents in this country".
"Families cannot bring over relatives for important occasions like weddings and births. Despite our strong historic links to this country, we do not expect special treatment or favours. But what we do ask for and deserve is fairness," she had said.
The curry clash went on to become a central feature of the campaign, with Vaz strongly countering Patel's argument: "I was furious to seePritiPatelclaiming that leaving the EU and shutting the door on immigrants from Poland and elsewhere would save Britain'scurryhouses. This is divide and rule politics of the worst kind".
However, in the last few days of the campaign, it was the Remain camp that seemed to have the momentum behind it.
As many as 71 Indian-origin councillors spoke out against Brexit, asking voters in their local councils to come out in big numbers and vote to Remain within the EU.
The average of those registering to vote in Britain stood at 78 per cent in the 2015 General Election, against a national UK average of 90 per cent.
With repeated appeals for potential voters to register by the deadline in early June, this figure is expected to register a significant rise with this referendum.
"Any Commonwealth citizen here in the UK can vote and every vote counts equally. It is purely a numbers game," said Hugo Swire, UK Foreign Office minister in charge of India.
During the campaign, he had also sought to dismiss a key argument used by the Brexit camp to woo Indian-origin voters that an exit from the free movement requirements of the EU would enable greater freedom of entry into the UK for Indians.
He said: "This is all based on imagination, rather than reality. Our membership of the EU does not prevent us from allowing people in from Commonwealth countries. It is not a binary decision, either EU or Commonwealth."
And, in an attempt to cash in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity among the Gujarati-origin diaspora, he added: "Prime Minister Modi himself said during his visit to the UK last year that India sees the UK as an entry point to the EU. So where would Indian companies look to if the UK were to leave, these are the unknowns to consider."
A review of the voting trends among Indian-origin voters after this week's historic referendum will confirm which side succeeded in putting forward the more convincing argument.
