London

UK's former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Tuesday hung on his lead in the race to select the next leader of the Conservative Party - and the Prime Minister, extending his lead in the fourth round to nearly a third of all votes.

Sunak secured 118 votes, three more than in the fourth round, while both his challengers - Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss remained in double digits, the BBC reported.

It was curtains for Nigerian-origin, former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, who came last with 59 votes and drops out. Sunak is trailed by Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt with 92 votes, 10 more votes since Monday, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was third with 86 votes, having gained 15 votes.

As the semi-final round of voting to choose the Tories’ leader happens today the chances of having a Indian-origin Britisher lead the UK are becoming brighter. More MPs are publically pledging their support to Sunak through their posts on social media.

After careful consideration & in line with my leadership campaign for aspirational conservatism & a merit-based system, I’m delighted to support @RishiSunak to deliver for our great country 🇬🇧. His brilliant experience as Chancellor will be vital to tackling the ⬆️ cost of living pic.twitter.com/iYX7l22sNr

The final round will be on Wednesday leaving just two candidates, and then, it is Conservative Party members around the country, who will make the final decision, to be announced on September 5.