A Tory councillor has accused the party's London mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith of being "patronising and stereotypical" after a series of leaflets were sent out to British Indian voters with a specific message for them.
Conservative group leader at Watford Council Binita Mehta, said in the Daily Telegraph that "This reckless approach needs to be confronted before we compromise our hard work thus far to win over "BME" voters", although she does still hope Mr Goldsmith wins the election.
The Conservative hopeful's campaign came under criticism this month when the leaflets were sent out after some voters felt it was playing up to stereotypes.
Some householders received notices which claimed Labour candidate Sadiq Khan was a threat to their family jewellery.
It also suggested he supported a ban on the Indian Prime Minister visiting the UK.
Responding to the criticism, Labour MP of Kilburn and Hampstead Tulip Siddiq said: "Zac Goldsmith is running a relentlessly negative and unpleasant campaign – he simply has no positive ideas for improving our city.
"These leaflets were patronising, unpleasant and divisive – and even senior Tory councillors agree.
"Zac Goldsmith should now apologise.”
'Not pandering to stereotypes'
Some took to social media to discuss their confusion, saying Mr Goldsmith had over simplified things by assuming all British Indians share the same view.
The criticism comes after Telegraph’s arts and entertainment editor Anita Singh described a Goldsmith leaflet claiming that “Sadiq Khan won’t stand up for London’s Sikh and Punjabi community” as “ despicable negative campaigning ”.
In a recent interview with The Guardian , Mr Goldsmith said he wasn't pandering to racial stereotypes, but instead said he "talks to different communities about their concerns".
He told The Guardian : "When I have a public meeting with British Indians, they worry about what’s happened to the Labour party – historically, these are people more likely to vote Labour than Conservative – and they’re worried about things like wealth tax and the fact that jewellery burglary is going up and they are being targeted because they tend to have more jewellery in their homes than most other people.”
A recent YouGov poll showed Sadiq Khan with a slight lead over Mr Goldsmith in the contest to become the next Mayor of London.
