Rishi Sunak, who resigned as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced his bid for the conservative party’s leadership. If successful, he will replace the outgoing Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson.

Why did he resign?

Rishi Sunak was a high-ranking member of the Cabinet. As the Chancellor, he was third in the ministerial ranking, after the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister.

However, following the allegations that Mr. Johnson appointed Chris Pincher as Deputy Chief Whip despite having knowledge of sexual misconduct allegations against the MP, Rishi Sunak submitted his resignation on the grounds that the public expects the government to be conducted properly and competently.

What are his chances?

The conservative members of the parliament will choose the nominees via voting, round after round. The two remaining candidates will compete for the votes of the party’s grassroots workers. The process will last until early September.

Mr. Sunak is up against Ms. Liz Truss. If the voting so far by the Tories is any indication, his chances are good.

Deciding factors

Rishi Sunak went to prestigious universities and worked for top companies before moving into politics. The 42-year-old became an MP in 2015, and his debating skills were seen in 2019 while defending PM Boris Johnson.

In a short video where he announced his bid, Mr. Sunak pitched his goal of rebuilding the economy, which irked a section of the social media, who pointed out that he was the Finance Minister for over last two years.

Mr. Sunak is linked to Partygate, where he attended the Birthday Party of the Prime Minister in violation of the COVID regulations.

Some of his economic policies in recent months have not been received well by his own party’s MPs. Counter-arguments to his candidacy will only increase as his rivals pitch their campaign ideas.