Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with his wife Sarah Jukaku.
| Photo Credit: AP
Sarah Jukaku, a doctor and wife of Democrat Abdul EI-Sayed, who is the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate in the midterm elections, traces her family roots to Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, of Karnataka, according to media reports.
Dr. Sarah is the granddaughter of the late J.H. Shamsuddin Jukaku, a lawyer from Bhatkal who served as Deputy Finance Minister in the erstwhile Mysore State government, led by the then Chief Minister B.D. Jatti, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Shamsuddin was also the Deputy Minister for Electricity in the then government led by then Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa, reports said.
Abdul El-Sayed: Who is the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate?
Abdul El-Sayed: Who is the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate?
| Video Credit:
The Hindu
It is said that following the death of Shamsuddin, his family members shifted to different parts of India, including to Bengaluru.
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Reports said that Dr. Sarah is the daughter of Jukaku S. Tayeb, also a doctor, who was among four sons of Shamsuddin, who also had six daughters. Dr. Tayeb moved to the U.S. in the 1980s.
They said that Dr. Sarah met EI-Sayed in the University of Michigan and they got married in 2006. Reports said that their family has still maintained relations with family members in India.
Published – November 05, 2026 02:43 pm IST
