The Britons are hours away to welcome their new Prime Minister with an enormous scale of challenges and ordeals to put the economically ailing country back on track. The successor for the outgoing premier Boris Johnson will be announced on Monday - September 5 and it's not the whole country going to the election but the next premier will be elected by the Tory members. 

In what has become a race at its best for the UK in recent times, the country will get its fourth prime minister in a decade, which was filled with economical and political setbacks and there were resignations under the backdrop of Brexit. As the incumbent parliament stays with a majority from the Conservative party, around 1.6 lakh Tory members will be electing their next party leader, who will become the new prime minister. 

When Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July owing to an unprecedented political downfall with scandals like Partygate and appointing a Deputy Whip who was earlier accused of sexual harassment, the race was on in the UK with a handful of Tory leaders jumping on the track to succeed Johnson. After mammoth campaign trails and pollings, the country is now left with the final two contenders - Rishi Sunak and Elizabeth 'Liz' Truss. 

Both the colleague-turned-rivals are familiar among the Britons as they held key roles in the Johnson cabinet. While Sunak was the finance minister, who orchestrated Johnson's downfall after revolting against him, Truss is the incumbent UK's foreign secretary, who projects herself as Margaret Thatcher. Both the leaders had their say before the British people on how they run the country once elected to office, it's now up to the Tory members to elect and declare the winner. 

Sunak, an Indian descent, has significant backing from the Britons, from the Tory MPs, and from top leaders, Truss is winning her way with the support of the Tory members who would be electing their new leader. Having said that, it appears Truss may take a lead over Sunak, though the latter's display of skilled and competent leadership has won great support from across the country. Typically, the league of Tory members is filled predominantly with white men and supporters of Brexit. 

In the six-week-long campaign, Sunak, with his slogan 'Ready for Rishi' has reaped solidarity for his strategies to mitigate the prevailing fears of Britons over growing inflation and energy prices. Notably, Sunak has finished first in all five rounds of voting by the Conservative Party MPs, which shows he would have hassle-free support in Parliament if he becomes the next prime minister. Whoever wins the race will swear in as the British Prime Minister on Tuesday. 

The winner of the contest will be announced at 5 pm IST on Monday - September 5 by Sir Graham Brady - chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and returning officer of the leadership election. If elected, 42-year-old Rishi Sunak will script history as the first British Prime Minister of the Indian heritage. Though born in the UK, Sunak calls himself a Hindu and after becoming an MP, he took his oath on the Bhagvat Gita. 

Sunak is of Punjab origin and his grandparents migrated from Punjab to Africa. His parents then migrated to the UK from Africa during the 1960s. His father was a doctor while his mother was a pharmacist. Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy. During his campaign, Sunak also touched upon his personal journey and recalled the past when his parents migrated to the UK. 

While Sunak's approach has been to put focus on bringing down the surging inflation and to use targeted measures to offer support for the crisis, his contender 47-year-old Truss, who ran with the slogan 'Liz for Leader', had campaigned with a promise to slash tax immediately once she is elected to address the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. The party's electorate has been voting for their choice online and by post. 

As the campaign has been closed and the country awaits the new leader, Conservative Party Chairman Andrew Stephenson said, "I'd like to thank Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss for participating in what, at times, must have been a gruelling schedule in good spirits and giving our members the opportunity to question them up front and personal, answering over 600 questions and putting themselves under the spotlight."

How will things unfold on Monday? 

Once the winner is announced, the newly elected Prime Minister will make a brief acceptance speech at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre near Downing Street. Ahead of the acceptance speech by the new leader, outgoing premier Boris Johnson will deliver a farewell speech on Monday outside his Downing Street office after which he will travel to Aberdeenshire in Scotland to meet the Queen and to formally resign as the British Prime Minister.

After Johnson's meeting with the Queen, his successor will then meet the Queen separately and the winner will then be formally appointed as the British Prime Minister at Queen's Balmoral Castle residence on Tuesday. It is the first time that the 96-year-old Queen will make the Prime Ministerial appointment outside of her seat at Buckingham Palace and England as she is curbing her travel due to her age. 

After the formal appointment, the new Prime Minister will arrive at 10 Downing Street to make the inaugural speech on Tuesday before officially commencing his or her tenure. Later on Tuesday, the new premier will announce the cabinet posts and the first address at the House of Commons by the new Prime Minister will be held on Wednesday during which the premier will take on his or her first Prime Minister's Questions.