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As one of the oldest members of the House of Commons and the trustee of Labour's second safest seat in the country, Piara Khabra has delighted friends and confounded enemies by retaining Southall on behalf of his party.
This frail but dignified Jalandhar-born parliamentarian has deliberately preserved his cultural and emotional ties with the land of his birth. He is proud of India, proud of his land of adoption, the UK, and overall proud to be a Punjabi.
There was little doubt that Khabra would win, although at times when he refused to play the game by making public appearances and courting the media his campaign seemed to wobble.
In fact, as results have shown, there was never any real threat to his domination or his future role in determining who is going to succeed him.
While his would-be rivals were trying to gather up the tiniest morsel of support -- wherever it might be found -- Khabra was content to issue one statement for the public's benefit before election day.
"The Labour Party has always considered law and order a priority," he said in an interview with a local community newspaper. "We have put in more money for more police officers and large sums for closed-circuit TV cameras. Labour has given large sums of money to Ealing Southall for CCTV cameras, which have reduced crime. Further cameras are due to be put up at King Street.
''Part of law and order is the question of drugs. Drug barons are exploiting the conditions of ordinary people and especially young people.The Labour Government aims to increase the level of funding for taking steps to deal with drugs coming into the country.
''We are also encouraging school policies on drugs aimed at educating parents and young people. I will continue work with the Labour party to further the law and order policies that have already been put into place."
Such pithily expressed statements and his refusal to engage in door-to-door campaigning prompted Khabra's rivals to argue that he was "past it" and should be replaced forthwith by a suitable candidate endorsed by the Conservative party headquarters.
At one point, it even seemed that Khabra may face serious competition for votes from his fellow Punjabi, also Jalandhar born, local businessman and Sunrise Radio station boss Avtar Lit.
It was 51-year-old Lit who led the campaign highlighting Khabra's age and it was Lit who claimed he was more truly representative of Southall's Asian community.
Khabra was not impressed. He pointed out that more than 60 per cent of the constituency was made up of whites and their support would be required by any candidate seeking election. Lit's final point that the incumbent MP had neglected local services and the area was run down was brushed aside by Khabra.
"My job as an MP is to address issues like health, education and welfare. Making sure that the dustbins are cleared once a week is not the job of an MP."
Nevertheless, now that the fight has been fought and won, Khabra will have to address some relevant facts. He may not be octogenarian, as Lit alleged, but he is by his own admission septugenarian. In the course of the next five years his friends and colleagues in the Labour Party will undoubtedly urge him to think of a worthy and younger successor. If he heeds their advice, as he must, this could turn out to be Khabra's last hurrah.
OTHER PROFILES Ashok Kumar Parmjit Dhanda Khalid Mahmood Mohammed Sarwar Keith Vaz Marsha Singh
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