Lib-Dem hopeful quits in bid for Bengali voters

The Liberal Democrats are replacing a candidate only months before the general election - because he is not Bangladeshi.

Mughal Fayez, a Pakistani, has pulled out of the battle for the key seat of Bethnal Green and Bow to make way for someone who more closely reflects the local Asian population.

Many Bangladeshis have harboured resentment towards Pakistanis since Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence, when it broke from Pakistani control.

With less than five months to go before the election, rumoured to be 5 May, the Lib-Dems have taken the rare step of withdrawing their official candidate and staging an emergency re-selection in the hope that a Bangladeshi will attract more votes.

Labour's Oona King is already facing a bitter contest against George Galloway and his anti-war Respect party, but the Lib-Dems believe they can sneak through the middle to win.

Bangladeshis make up more than a third of the population of the borough of Tower Hamlets, and Bethnal Green and Bow is being turned into a referendum on Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq.

Ms King has a majority of 10,000 but is seen to be vulnerable because of her support for the war. Mr Galloway's decision to fight the seat guarantees it will attract massive media attention.

"Mr Fayez was an excellent candidate but our two approved candidates who are Bengali are also very good," a senior Lib-Dem source said.