Know the candidates

HT takes a look at three main players in the polls

JEREMY CORBYN (Labour) The man who energised Labour

Before moving to parliamenn tary politics, the 68-year-old was elected seven times from the London constituency of Islington North, considered a bastion of the left-leaning middle class

Corbyn was mostly unknown n till September 2015, when he was catapulted to become leader of the main opposition party

He is seen as one of the most n rebellious Labour MPs, having voted against his party more than 500 times during his parliamentary career

THERESA MAY (Conservative) The cricket-loving ‘ice maiden’

Before becoming prime n minister, she had the longest tenure in a century as home secretary, seen as the graveyard of political careers

As home secretary, she had a n massive impact on sensitive issues such as immigration, which affected many Indians

The 60-year-old wants n to win a mandate for her vision of Brexit, and a big majority will allow her to ignore critics inside and outside her party during the two-year process to exit the EU

TIM FARRON (Liberal Democrats) The man of humour and wit

Popular for his jokey-matey n personality, he was first elected to parliament in 2005 and at 46, is the youngest party leader

Farron has promised to hold n another referendum on the final deal before Brexit. He has also vowed to make it difficult for May to force “hard Brexit”

He faces an uphill task to n revive his party’s fortunes — from winning 57 seats in 2010 and forming a coalition with David Cameron's government, the party could only muster eight in 2015