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  "description": "The race to fill a vacant seat on Leicester City Council has begun, with eight candidates standing in the Stoneygate byelection",
  "path": "/the-candidates-you-can-vote-for-in-the-stoneygate-byelection/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-12T08:00:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.leicester.news",
  "tags": [
    "****Leicester Gazette****",
    "Learn more",
    "registered in advance",
    "originally proposed",
    "__Click here for membership__",
    "__Click here for membership__"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\nThis story was written by the ****local democracy reporting service (LDRS),**** a BBC-funded scheme to improve the coverage of issues relating to local democracy. The ****Leicester Gazette**** has been a partner in the scheme since March 2024, and so receives some stories as part of it.\n\n Learn more \n\nThe contest follows the death of councillor Manjula Sood on Christmas Eve. Leicester City Council has confirmed the byelection will take place on Thursday 19 February.\n\nCandidates from Labour, the Conservatives, the Green party, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK are standing, alongside two independents whose campaigns have connections to Your Party.\n\nBelow, the local democracy reporting service (LDRS) outlines who the candidates are, why they are standing, and the issues they say matter most to them.\n\nVoters who wish to take part are urged to ensure they are registered in advance.\n\n#### **Asit Sodha (Lib Dem)**\n\nAsit Sodha, Photograph: Asit Sodha\n\nAsit Sodha is a local businessperson who says he is ready to give back to the community he was raised in.\n\nWith a portfolio of properties in Leicester, and a history working for a bank’s real estate department, Sodha is confident he has the knowledge and experience required to bring about regeneration in Stoneygate and Leicester more widely.\n\nOne property he has already sized up for renewal is the Borders House on Belgrave Boulevard, a former homelessness centre which has been closed for five years. Sodha said that if the site was offered to the open market, it may no longer function as a community hub.\n\nHe said: “I have come to a point in my life where I can help the public because I have the time.\n\n“I could have taken on another project but I am dedicating all my time for the community. I have kept my time free for serving the people.”\n\n#### **Aasiya Bora (Greens)**\n\nAasiya Bora. Photograph: Aasiya Bora\n\nAasiya Bora decided to get involved in politics after seeing poverty in her community first hand.\n\nThe walking and cycling charity worker grew up in Leicester and moved back in 2010 to raise her family. But after training as an English teacher, Bora said the “truly wanting” situation of children she saw inspired her to roll up her sleeves.\n\nShe said: “Children without coats in bitter weather, shoes coming apart. I just thought this is not okay. I have to be more active.”\n\nBora, who is also interested in environmental policy and tackling global injustices, has already had a good vote share in previous elections, including for Evington ward in 2021 and the 2024 police and crime commissioner election.\n\nShe added: “I can’t unsee real poverty in my town. I am in politics to make a difference to people who are vulnerable.”\n\n#### **Michael Barker (independent)**\n\nMichael Barker. Photograph: Michael Barker\n\nMichael Barker is a college support worker who is an active member of Your Party and Socialist Alternative.\n\nIn 2023, Barker used his position on the Trade Union Council to help force the city council to scrap their proposed Workplace Parking Levy – a £550 annual tax on workers who drive to work. This tax was predicted to affect more than 20,000 individuals.\n\nSince then, he has campaigned for a public meeting designed to improve local services and for the release of the Filton 24, a group of imprisoned Palestine activists.\n\nBarker was originally proposed as the Your Party candidate, but following the discovery that another independent was also campaigning from a socialist stance, support was withdrawn.\n\nHe said: “I believe both Your Party and Socialist Alternative can play a critical role in the fight to build a socialist society which is run by and for working-class people.\n\n“Now more than ever we need to build a mass campaign across the city, as part of a broader national campaign, which can demand the funding that our communities so desperately need.”\n\n#### **Faisal Noor (independent)**\n\nFaisal Noor outside City Hall. Photograph: Faisal Noor\n\nThe independent candidate who caught the eye of some Your Party members is Faisal Noor, a taxi driver and cafe owner who has lived in Stoneygate for 24 years.\n\nHe said: “It’s the place where I fell in love, raised my family, established my business, and volunteered for the community.\n\n“The time has come up for me to represent. The people of Stoneygate know me – they feel confident to raise their issues with me.”\n\nNoor’s campaign is focussed on better parking, safe and clean streets, and fighting against all cuts made to local services.\n\n## Be part of the story\n\nJoin our free mailing list to get local news and tips in your inbox every week.\n\nSubscribe for free\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\n__No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Want to support our work?____Click here for membership__ __.__\n\n#### **Rashmikant Joshi (Conservatives)**\n\nRashmikant Joshi. Photograph: Rashmikant Joshi\n\nRashmikant Joshi is a former lord mayor who describes himself as an “experienced and seasoned” councillor.\n\nHe said: “People still come to me for help and guidance. The reason I wanted to stand for the Stoneygate byelection was to continue the work I have been doing for three decades now.”\n\nJoshi used to be a Labour member of Leicester City Council, but after being deselected in a mass dismissal in 2023, defected to the Tories.\n\nHaving lived in Leicester for 51 years, he says his biggest priorities are reducing crime, fixing potholes, and tackling litter.\n\nHe said: “It is so upsetting to see streets so dirty, filthy. I want to bring back the pride for the local area.”\n\n#### **Michael Dabrowski (Reform UK)**\n\nMichael Dabrowski. Photograph: Michael Dabrowski\n\nMichael Dabrowski is making a bid for the vacancy after growing dissatisfaction with the current council’s level of service.\n\nHe said: “Leicester is my home, and Stoneygate is a community I know well. Like many people who live here, I’ve watched the area change over the years, and not always for the better.\n\n“What frustrates me most is the growing sense that the council no longer listens to residents or delivers the basics properly.\n\n“Labour figures admit the council is under severe financial pressure, yet residents are paying more and getting less in return.”\n\nDabrowski says that if elected, his focus will be on reducing crime, transport improvements, cleaner streets, and cutting waste in City Hall.\n\nHe also vows to oppose the use of local hotels and family homes as accommodation for people he calls “illegal migrants”.\n\n#### **Adam Sabat (Labour)**\n\nAdam Sabat. Photograph: Adam Sabat\n\nAdam Sabat moved to Leicester in the 1960s and founded a textiles recycling business after his family fled the war in Burma.\n\nHe said: “This experience of displacement and starting anew gave us a profound understanding of resilience and the value of community support.”\n\nAs an active member for the Muslim Burial Council and a frequent volunteer for local schools, Sabat says bringing the community together is at the top of his political agenda.\n\nHe added: “As well as championing Stoneygate, tackling those day-to-day issues and using my experience in voluntary organisations and business, another thing that really drives me is standing up against division in our community.\n\n“What I am particularly proud of is that my work has always been inclusive, reaching across all communities regardless of religion, ethnicity, or background. Leicester’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths.”\n\nSabat said he will also work on issues surrounding parking, fly-tipping, and anti-social behaviour.\n\n#### **Alef Uddin (One Leicester)**\n\nAlef Uddin is campaigning on issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, holding the city mayor to account, and hosting accessible surgeries.\n\nThe LDRS did reach out to Uddin’s team but did not receive a response.\n\n****If you enjoyed this article and want more great local journalism, here’s how to get it.****\n\nWe publish investigations, news features and human interest stories that go beyond the headlines. Our journalism is fact-based and rigorous, and we prize good writing over clickbait and sensationalism.\n\nOur readers get all our stories directly in their inbox every Monday morning via our free weekly newsletter. ****Use that button below to sign up for free.****\n\n__No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. 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  "title": "The candidates you can vote for in the Stoneygate byelection",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-12T08:00:53.000Z"
}