Watch: Rishi Sunak, wife Akshata Murthy perform ‘gau pooja’ in London, video goes viral

In the video, Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayanamurthy can be seen performing an aarti in front of the cow. The video of gau pooja came days after Rishi Sunak visited Bhaktivedanta Manor on the outskirts of London to celebrate Janmashtami.

A video of Rishi Sunak, who is a finalist in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister, is gaining traction on social media which shows the Conservative Party member performing gau pooja (cow worship) in London.

Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy, who is also the daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayanamurthy, can be seen in the video conducting an aarti in front of the cow. As the couple performs the ritual and asks the cow for blessings, while a priest who is watching them from a distance hands Sunak a diya (earthen light).

Days after Sunak celebrated Janmashtami celebration at Bhaktivedanta Manor on the outskirts of London, he uploaded the video of gau puja. According to the manor's official Instagram page, Rishi Sunak discussed the Bhagavad Gita and how it gives him courage.

Sunak shared a photo of himself inside the temple on Twitter along with the caption, "Today I went the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple with my wife Akshata to celebrate Janmashtami, in advance of the annual Hindu holiday commemorating Lord Krishna's birthday."

The 42-year-old Tory representative for Richmond in Yorkshire who was born in the UK but has Indian ancestry said he wants to transform the UK-India relationship to make it more of a two-way exchange that gives UK students and businesses easy access to India.

Sunak addressed the mostly British Indian crowd at a Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) campaign hustings event with a mixture of traditional salutations such "namaste, salaam, khem cho, and kidda."

In the contest to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, Sunak, who held the position from February 2020 to July 2022 under Boris Johnson's administration, is facing off against Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. The result of the crucial vote to decide the next British Prime Minister is due on September 5.