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Before announcing he was pulling out of the contest, Boris Johnson was fighting on Sunday to get enough support to make a shock return as Britain鈥檚 prime minister after prominent figures on the right wing of the Conservative Party coalesced around the man once accused of betraying him, Rishi Sunak.

Mr. Sunak, a former finance minister, confirmed on Sunday he would enter the competition to replace Liz Truss, vowing to tackle the country鈥檚 鈥減rofound economic crisis鈥� with 鈥渋ntegrity, professionalism and accountability.鈥�

鈥淚 want to fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country,鈥� said Mr. Sunak, the man accused by Mr. Johnson鈥檚 supporters of ending his previous three-year spell in office.

Mr. Sunak quit the cabinet in July, triggering an unprecedented ministerial rebellion against Mr. Johnson.

The declaration from the clear front-runner threw down the gauntlet to Mr. Johnson, who had returned from a holiday in the Caribbean to try to secure the聽backing of 100 lawmakers聽to get onto Monday鈥檚 ballot.

During his previous time in Downing Street he was supported by many of the different factions in the party, including those on the right who spearheaded Britain鈥檚 departure from the European Union.

This time, however, many previous backers had told Mr. Johnson he should step aside, noting that the country needs stability after Ms. Truss鈥檚聽chaotic six-weeks in power聽sparked turmoil on financial markets, hitting the value of the pound.

Mr. Johnson is also still facing a聽privileges committee聽investigation into whether he misled parliament over Downing Street parties during COVID-19 lockdowns. He could be forced to resign or be suspended from office if found guilty.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the time for Boris鈥檚 style,鈥� Steve Baker, an influential lawmaker on the right of the party聽who is backing Mr. Sunak, told Sky News. 鈥淚鈥檓 afraid the trouble is because of the privileges vote, Boris would be a guaranteed disaster.鈥�

Britain has been thrust into yet another leadership battle after Ms. Truss was forced to quit when her radical economic policies drove up borrowing costs and mortgage rates at a time of surging energy and food bills.

Mr. Sunak and former defense minister Penny Mordaunt are in the fray聽to become the country鈥檚 fifth prime minister in six years. Mr. Johnson announced Sunday evening he would not pursue the office, saying 鈥測ou can鈥檛 govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.鈥�

Opposition leader Keir Starmer said the battle at the top of Conservatives was a 鈥渞idiculous, chaotic circus,鈥� and his focus was on the millions of Britons struggling to pay their bills.

The Labour Party leader, along with other opposition parties, have called for a national election.

An unpopular candidate versus a divisive one

The prospect of Mr. Johnson鈥檚 return had been a polarizing issue for many in a divided Conservative Party, while his聽popularity among聽voters had also tumbled before he was forced out.

For some lawmakers, he is a聽vote-winner, able to appeal across the country with his celebrity image and brand of energetic optimism. For others he is a toxic figure who would fail to unite the party and so might undermine efforts to build a stable leadership to calm rattled financial markets.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had endorsed Mr. Johnson earlier on Sunday, saying he had 鈥渓earned lessons from his time in No. 10 and will ensure the focus is on the needs of the country from day one.鈥�

If Mr. Sunak is chosen, he would be the聽first prime minister of Indian origin聽in the United Kingdom.

His family migrated to Britain in the 1960s, a period when many people from Britain鈥檚 former colonies arrived to help rebuild the country after the Second World War.

After graduating from Oxford University, he later went to聽Stanford University where he met his wife Akshata Murthy, whose father is Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder of outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd.

Mr. Sunak first came to national attention when, aged 39, he became finance minister under Mr. Johnson just as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Britain, developing a furlough scheme to support millions of people through multiple lockdowns.

鈥淚 served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times,鈥� Mr. Sunak said in a statement on Sunday. 鈥淭he challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities - if we make the right choice - are phenomenal.鈥�

Despite polls showing Mr. Sunak to be more popular in the country, he remains deeply unpopular with large parts of the party membership after they blamed him for bringing down Mr. Johnson.

According to the rules of the accelerated contest, if only one candidate secures the backing of 100 Conservative lawmakers, they will be named prime minister on Monday.

If two candidates pass the threshold, they will go forward to a vote of the party membership, with the winner announced on Friday,聽just days before finance minister Jeremy Hunt is due to lay bare the state of the country鈥檚 finances on Oct. 31.

So far none of the three candidates have given any detail about what policies they would introduce if they became prime minister.

This story was reported by Reuters.聽This story was updated on Sunday after Mr. Johnson pulled out of the race.