Labour fields Indian-origin candidate against UK education minister

London: An Indian-origin doctor has been chosen by Britain's Labour party as its candidate for a district in south-west London to contest the June 8 election.

Neeraj Patil, a Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine and a former Mayor of the London Borough of Lambeth, is pitted against the Conservative Education Minister of Britain, Justine Greening in Putney.

Greening has been representing the constituency since 2005.

Patil, born and brought up in Gulbarga in Karnataka, had been in the forefront of installing a statue of 12th century philosopher Basaveshwara on the bank of the river Thames.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled the statue on November 14, 2015.

He has worked in the National Health Service for over 15 years in 41 different hospitals.