A local election candidate in Lancashire has become an unlikely viral hit after releasing his latest campaign video ahead of Thursday's elections (May 6).
The short clip shows taxi-driving Conservative Tiger Patel posing with dilapidated playground equipment in his prospective ward of Audley and Queen's Park.
But instead of listing election promises for his corner of Blackburn, he lets the music do the talking.
A loud tune plays in the background - possibly from some kind of ghetto blaster - as Mr Patel silently walks through a playground.
To round off the clip, he clambers to the top of a climbing frame and proudly raises both hands into the air.
Within half an hour of originally being posted online by Lambat Yusuf , the footage had amassed more than 100,000 views.
On Twitter, after being shared by Hannah Al-Othman, one user described it as the ‘best political campaign video I have ever seen’.
Another simply added it was ‘incredible’.
Others said that the video was ‘a bit weird’ but they understood ‘what he's trying to say here, highlighting the state of the playground'.
It is not the first time Tiger Patel's unusual brand of campaign video has caught the attention of the internet.
Previous appearances have seen his face morph into that of a tiger, as well as appearing with bins that had not been collected.
Owner of local cab firm Tiger Taxis, Mr Patel previously ran as an independent in 2019 before representing the Conservative Party.
In 2019, he secured 584 votes in his ward — enough to beat out then-Tory challenger Sarah Louise Morrison into second place behind Labour’s Salim Sidat.
This time, he will face Labour opposition from Maryam Batan.
According to the local Conservative Association, Mr Patel has been ‘campaigning for a long time for playground equipment in Queens Park to be repaired and for a reduction in litter in the area’. He lives in the ward and owns minicab firm Tiger Taxis.
Currently, Blackburn with Darwen is a Labour-controlled council.
