This midterm election is very important in American political history. The reason is that many Pakistani Americans are also trying their luck in various positions including House, State Assemblies, Mayor-Council, and Board in these November 8 elections.
Compared to the past, Pakistani Americans are taking a keen interest in these elections this time. Most of them are doctors by profession. The most important and historic battle is that of Dr. Asif Mahmood.
Dr. Asif Mehmood is a pulmonologist from Kharian. He is the only Pakistani-American Democrat considered closest to Vice President Kamala Harris. He has an obligatory relationship with President Biden. Maybe this will work for them because Biden is not very popular even in California, the stronghold of the Democrats. Rising inflation is seriously damaging President Biden’s reputation.
When President Biden came to California two weeks ago, Dr. Asif Mehmood met him, but it is good that Biden did not issue any statement in favor of Dr. Asif. It is enough for Dr. Asif that Vice President Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton did fundraising for him.
If Dr. Asif Mahmood is elected, he will not only be the first Pakistani American but also the first South Asian Muslim American member of Congress. Republican rivals are pouring dollars into their campaign to win this tussle.
Another Pakistani-American who is likely to win an important seat is Dr. Saud Anwar. A native of Karachi and a graduate of the Aga Khan Hospital, Dr. Noor has been a member of the Connecticut State Senate from District 3 since March 1, 2019.
Last time, Dr. Saud won unopposed due to the cancellation of the Democratic Party’s ticket selection process, but this time he is facing Republican rival Matt Harper.
Political Background Dr. Saud Anwar is also famous for making ventilators in the easiest way during the Corona epidemic.
Pakistani-American Dr. J. Jalesi from Karachi has been a member of the State House since 2015 from District 10 in the state of Maryland. This time he decided to contest the state senate election. On the one hand, the African-American wave in the constituency drowned them, then the delay in deciding to contest the election proved to be a blessing in disguise. The result was that he won the race for the primary ie the party ticket.
Something similar happened to Saqib Ali from Maryland. He became a member of the state house from District 39 in 2007 but left the post the following year. This time he wanted to run for State Delegate from Montgomery County in District 15, but did not win the primary.
Two Pakistani Americans from Texas, this time from Karachi, are likely to become members of the state assembly. One of them is a doctor and the other is a lawyer.
Dr. Sulaiman Lalani is running in the relatively safe Democratic seat of Texas’ District 76. A native of Karachi, Dr. Lalani received his medical degree from Sindh Medical College in 1992. He nearly doubled his Democratic opponent, Vanessa Johnson, in the primary. He was defeated by votes. Now he is facing his Republican opponent Dan Matthews. Dr. Lalani, who has lived in Houston for two decades, is a Harvard-educated and one of the most famous physicians in America.
Salman Bhojani is contesting the state assembly election from District 92 of Texas on the platform of the Democrat Party. Good coincidence is that they also belong to Karachi. He went to Canada in 1990 but moved to America in 1999. In the primary on March 1, he also defeated his opponent Tracy Scott by more than double the votes and now faces Republican opponent Joe Livingston.
Sohrab Gilani is running for the House on the Republican Party ticket from District 27 of the state of Texas. He faces Democrat challenger Ron Reynolds. The chances of Gilani’s victory are low, it can be estimated from the fact that Gilani got four thousand and sixteen votes in the primary for the party ticket, while his opponent, the Democrat, won the primary with 12,657 votes.
Mike Moeed Khan, a Pakistani American from the state of Texas, also tried to contest the election on the Republican platform, but he could not win the primary.
Tahir Javed, a prominent Democrat from the same state, contested the primary election for the US House of Representatives from District 29 in 2018 and finished second. This time, he submitted nomination papers from District 7 as a result of the new districting Due to the large number of Pakistani Americans and South Asians in this constituency, there was a possibility that he would be able to get more votes, but he withdrew from the primary on March 1 for two reasons.
One is that he is the Deputy National Finance Chair of the Democratic Party and he was in a state of embarrassment for leaving this important position to contest the Congress elections, and the other is that the important bill on which he presented demands on Islamophobia was rejected by the Democratic Party. It was approved as it was. If Tahir Javed had not resigned and fought the primaries against the incumbent Congress member of his own party, there was a fear that he and some of his fellow Congress members would have avoided voting on the Islamophobia bill. The bill has become law and now the party is gearing up for a much stronger foothold in the next election as the term of office ends.
Pakistani Americans are also trying their luck from many other states, while the most important competition for Pakistani Americans at the local level will be in California.
Ali Sajjad Taj is the president of the League of California Cities and a second-term mayor of the city of Artesia. He is also a delegate of the Democratic Party in California and he is running for mayor for the third time.
Farah Khan is the mayor of Irvine, California. Municipal elections in the state are not held on party lines, but Farah Khan calls herself a democrat and is a candidate for the post of mayor for the second time.
Sabina Zafar also belongs to California. She became a member of the council in 2018. The very next year, he was appointed vice mayor.
The tendency of Pakistani Americans to participate in the election has increased after the arrival of President Trump, the Trump era highlighted the feeling that instead of entrusting the decision of fate to someone, one should participate in the process themselves. This is a trend that has awakened not only in Britain, Canada, and Australia but also among Pakistanis living in Kenya long ago.
