- Mother in India celebrated her daughter’s historic victory.
An Indian-origin woman from Uttar Pradesh has scripted history in the United States, with Democrat Saba Haider winning a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. Haider has become the first South Asian woman to be elected to the state’s General Assembly. Her electoral victory has sparked celebrations back home in Ghaziabad, where her mother, Shahnaz Haider, expressed pride over her daughter’s achievement, saying years of hard work and sacrifice had finally paid off.
‘My Life Has Been Successful’: Mother Celebrates Daughter’s Victory
Speaking to news agency PTI, Shahnaz Haider said the family stayed awake through the night waiting for the election results. The moment she received her daughter’s call early in the morning, the celebrations began.
She said, “My life has been successful. Everyone is saying that my daughter is the first immigrant woman to reach that position. I feel that by achieving something so significant, she has made all my hard work successful. We stayed awake the entire night.”
Recalling the moment Saba announced her victory, she said: “Around 6.30 to 7.00 am, when we received her phone call, she said, ‘Mummy, I am winner,’ I literally jumped out of my chair. I informed her brothers and her father that Saba had won, and everyone celebrated with so much joy. Everyone started jumping around in happiness, and I said that the hard work and devotion we had put in for all these days has finally borne fruit today,” her mother told PTI.
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Saba Haider Wins Illinois’ 84th District With 70.9% Votes
Haider secured a decisive victory in the November 3 US midterm elections, winning the 84th district with 70.9% of the votes. According to Associated Press figures, she received 20,756 votes, comfortably defeating Republican candidate Brian Scopa, who secured 8,520 votes, or 29.1%.
The 40-year-old Democrat moved to the US around two decades ago. Before entering electoral politics, she established herself there and worked as a yoga teacher.
She also won a seat on the DuPage County Board, defeating Republican incumbent Patty Gustin by a margin of 8,521 votes. Haider had contested the same seat in 2022 but lost by approximately 1,000 votes.
DuPage County is the second-largest county in Illinois and administers an area with nearly one million residents.
‘I Don’t Have A Magic Ball’: Haider Recalls Mother’s Excitement
Haider also spoke about her mother’s eagerness to know the election results and said she was the first person she called after the victory.
She said, “I called my mom in Ghaziabad first and told her that we won. And she kept calling me every hour during the day asking me for results. I’m like, Mom, results don’t come in before 8 o’clock in the night. So I don’t have a magic ball. I don’t have predictions for you. I don’t know what to say. So she’s been up….”
From Bulandshahr To Aligarh Muslim University
Haider’s family traces its roots to Aurangabad in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district. Her father later moved to Ghaziabad for work, bringing the family along.
An academically accomplished student, Haider topped her BSc class at Ram Chameli Chadha Vishwas Girls’ College. She subsequently pursued an MSc in Wildlife Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), where she earned a gold medal. According to online reports, she also participated in wildlife census work before moving to the US.
Her journey from Uttar Pradesh to the Illinois legislature marks a significant milestone in her political career.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
