Indian American candidate wins city council seat in Texas

In unofficial results, Harish Jajoo edged Pakistani American attorney and investment manager Farha Ahmed on June 11 in the runoff election for the city council seat in District 4 in Sugar Land.

Jajoo secured 1,473 or 52.38 per cent of the total votes, while 1,340 or 47.62 per cent polled for Ahmed. Jajoo had a 915-724 advantage in pre-Election Day balloting, while Ahmed polled better on voting day, getting 616 votes to 559 for her opponent.

The tight contest was marred by a flier, circulated before the election and quoting a Pakistani newspaper, erroneously insinuated that Ahmed would represent Afia Sidique, a woman dubbed as "Lady al Qaeda," in a criminal case.

Siddiqui is a US-educated Pakistani neuroscientist who was sentenced to 86 years in prison in a New York District Court in 2010 for trying to shoot US soldiers at a police station in Afghanistan in 2008. She was shown on the flier in two grainy mug shots along with Ahmed's photo.

Ahmed issued a statement saying she is a civil litigation attorney and could not represent Siddiqui in a criminal case.