Indian-origin Ghazala Hashmi wins Virginia Lieutenant Governor election
New York(PTI): India-born American politician Ghazala Hashmi has been elected as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian American to be elected to the top political post in the state.
Hashmi, 61, a Democrat secured 1,465,634 votes (54.2 per cent), way ahead of her Republican rival John Reid, who secured 1,232,242 votes, with 79 per cent of the votes in.
The Virginia State Senator, who emerged victorious on Election Day Tuesday, was among the over 30 Indian-Americans and South Asian candidates running for office for key nationwide positions in the 2025 elections.
Hashmi’s election was among the most-closely watched as she was in the fray for the top state post.
Hashmi is the first Muslim and the first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate.
“As an experienced educator and advocate of inclusive values and social justice, her legislative priorities include public education, voting rights and the preservation of democracy, reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, the environment, housing and affordable healthcare access,” her official profile said.
Community organisation The Indian American Impact Fund congratulated Hashmi on her historic victory in the General Election for Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor.
As part of its commitment to electing barrier-breaking leaders, Impact said it had invested USD 175,000 in Hashmi’s campaign to mobilise voters and strengthen representation at every level of government.
Executive Director of the Indian American Impact Fund Chintan Patel described Hashmi’s victory as a landmark moment for the community, Commonwealth and democracy.
“An immigrant, educator and tireless advocate, she has dedicated her life to expanding opportunity and delivering results for working families across Virginia. From reproductive freedom and affordable healthcare to public education and housing equity, Ghazala Hashmi has led on the issues that matter most to Virginians,” Patel said.
Hashmi was first elected to office in November 2019, upsetting the Republican incumbent and delivering the majority to Democrats for the first time in years and shocking the political establishment.
Indian American Impact Fund noted that Hashmi had made history in 2019 with her victory, flipping the Republican-held seat to help Democrats take control of the State Senate.
“Tonight she’s made history again as Virginia’s first South Asian American and Muslim Lieutenant Governor. Impact was proud to support her from the very beginning because we knew what was at stake: protecting our rights, defending our communities from MAGA extremism, and expanding opportunity for all who call Virginia home.”
In 2024, Hashmi was named Chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee. As a state Senator, Ghazala has dedicated her efforts to improving the lives of others, focusing on issues of inequity in housing, education, health care, environmental justice and much more.
Hashmi was four years old when she emigrated to the US with her mother and older brother from India, joining her father in Georgia where he was pursuing his PhD in international relations and beginning his university teaching career.
She grew up in that small college town, at a time when public schools were being desegregated, and so she saw firsthand how communities can be built and dialogue promoted through intentional efforts to bridge cultural, racial, and socioeconomic divides, her campaign said.
After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and receiving multiple full scholarships and fellowships, Hashmi earned a BA with honours from Georgia Southern University and her PhD in American literature from Emory University in Atlanta.
Hashmi and her husband, Azhar, moved as newlyweds to the Richmond area in 1991, and she spent nearly 30 years as a professor, first teaching at the University of Richmond and then at Reynolds Community College.
While at Reynolds, she also served as the Founding Director of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
