New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) Democrat Saba Haider, who is originally from Uttar Pradesh and has now been elected to the Illinois General Assembly, has said her victory reflects how voters in the US are increasingly prioritising everyday concerns such as affordability, healthcare, education and environment over divisive politics.
Speaking about her win in an interview with PTI Videos, the US State Representative-elect for Illinois emphasised that the voters were increasingly responding to candidates who addressed issues affecting families across communities.
“If the candidates are talking about those issues, like everyday kitchen table issues, people are paying attention to that. People are listening to that, resonating with that, and are voting for those candidates that are talking about those issues that affect their families, that affect the lives of their children.
“Many of the Indian Americans have done that,” Haider, who moved to the US 20 years ago, said, as she hailed the growing presence of Indian-American and South Asian representatives in American politics.
Recalling election night, Haider, 42, said she celebrated the victory surrounded by family, friends, volunteers and members of her campaign team.
“Calls from relatives in India began coming in as the day ended in the US,” Haider said, adding that this journey from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh to an elected office in Illinois had been challenging, both physically and emotionally.
“The campaign involved knocking on thousands of doors in the Chicago suburbs, often in sub-zero temperatures during the January-March primary season. Sometimes I wouldn’t even feel my fingertips and my toes. It would take me more than an hour to just come back to normal temperature.”
She also spoke about the additional scrutiny women face in electoral politics. “You’re opening yourself up to scrutiny of all levels. You get judged for every single thing, from the colour of your lipstick to the length of your sleeves and everything else in between,” she said.
Pointing to the election of other South Asian candidates, she cited 27-year-old Nabila Syed, who flipped an Illinois Senate seat in a record-setting race, as an example of the strides being made in American politics. The legislator said Indian-American representatives must ensure their communities’ concerns are heard, while building alliances across ethnic and social groups.
Addressing young South Asian Americans interested in public service, she urged them to get involved in local political campaigns and understand how elections are organised.
“Find a local campaign around yourself. Be it a city council campaign, a mayoral campaign, a county campaign or a state campaign. Find someone around you that is running for local office and get connected to them,” she said.
She added that community-building could be a strength for Indian-Americans entering politics. “Building that broad coalition of support will help you achieve anything,” she said. PTI DSR SKY RT
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