Akshata, the daughter of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, met Sunak while studying at Stanford University.
On Monday, when the 42-year-old won the Conservative Party leadership contest, confirming he will be the next British PM, his father-in-law was overseas, though not in the UK.
In a message Narayana Murthy said: “Congratulations to Rishi. We are proud of him and we wish him success. We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom.”
Sudha Murty, Sunak’s mother-in-law was in Bengaluru, watching the developments and acknowledging wishes. Earlier in the day, she also visited a close family friend and Biocon founder Kiran-Mazumdar Shaw, on hearing about her husband’s death.
Shaw had played the host at Sunak and Akshata’s marriage at the Leela Palace hotel in Bengaluru, overseeing the
mehndi arrangements.
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Former Infosys board member TV Mohandas Pai hailed Sunak’s election as a proud moment for all Indians.
“Our hour of happiness should, however, be tempered by the fact that PM Rishi [Sunak] will always keep the interest of the UK first and we should not expect anything special from him for India. We should rather expect him to be harsher on India than on the other countries to counter any racist criticism in the UK,” Pai told ET.
Sunak will take the powers of the UK in his hand at a time when the country is grappling with multiple issues, including soaring inflation figures, a spiralling Pound Sterling and global macroeconomic headwinds. He will replace Liz Truss, who resigned after serving as the country’s PM for just 45 days.
Infosys cofounder S Gopalakrishnan also extended his best wishes to Sunak.
DN Prahlad, another former member of the Infosys board, said it was “very rare to find a politician who sticks to his views knowing fully it may cost him the election. That is what Rishi Sunak is all about”.
An Infosys veteran and former executive vice president Ramadas Kamath said the UK got one of the best administrators-cum-economists in Sunak to steer the country through its turbulent times of high interest rates and a falling pound sterling.
Akshata, his wife, born in Hubballi, holds a small stake in Infosys.
In an email interview to ET in May 2015, Sunak had said: “It is important that those who come to settle in the UK gain a sense of British identity and share British values. We have always attracted the best and brightest from around the world to work and study, because of our great universities and business climate, and that will remain the case.”
He had also said his parents were his inspiration to enter politics. “My father is a doctor and my mother ran the local pharmacy. Growing up, I saw first-hand the difference they made to our community. Their patients always used to tell me what my mum and dad had done for them and this stuck with me. As an MP, I hope I can make a positive difference to the families in my constituency.”
