Indian-origin lawmaker Paramjit Singh Dhanda Wednesday entered the fray for the Speaker's post in Britain's House of Commons, saying that none of the leading candidates were offering sufficient change to the system.
The 37-year-old Labour MP from Gloucester, who is also a former minister, is in the run up to succeed Michael Martin, who will step down on June 21.
Dhanda, a father of two, was born in London to Punjabi immigrants who came to Britain in 1960s. His mother was a cleaner at a hospital and his father a lorry driver.
He was elected to House of Commons in 2001 and became a minister in the Communities Department in 2007. He noted that there was a lack of ministers with Indian roots when he was sacked in a reshuffle last year.
In an email to all MPs Dhanda has said that he was not "an obvious choice". "Until I see someone more likely to win who will fight for the causes I spell out here, I'll be in this contest," he added.
Tory party's John Bercow is the bookies' favourite to win the vote among MPs. Other frontrunners include fellow Conservative Sir George Young, Labour ex-minister Frank Field and Liberal Democrat Sir Alan Beith.
"Parliament is in crisis. Just a few days ago we saw the election of two members of the BNP to the European Parliament.
But I don't believe that the British people are racist," Dhanda said.