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The Perry Barr Campaign was earlier shrowded in allegations of sleaze, centering on claims that Mahmood had rigged the vote to replace Rooker as Labour candidate.
A party enquiry cleared Mahmood of wrong-doings, but the increased Liberal Democrat vote suggested many Labour voters backed their anti-sleaze campaign.
Mahmood, a community development officer who is studying for an MBA in management studies, said, "I can't say that this election has been free from personal differences, but I hope this result marks a new start for the Labour Party in Perry Barr.
The Birmingham Labour party has been the scene of faction-fighting and legal actions for many years, aggravated by tension within rival ethnic minorities in the city.
Pre-election complaints against Mahmood included his sudden disappearance from Birmingham for over a year shortly after first being elected city councillor, and the collapse of the council-backed British Kashmiri Association with huge debts in 1994.
Soon after Mahmood won the vacant Labour nomination last April, Labour's ruling national executive committee endorsed his candidacy and the assurance of its regional officials that no impropriety had occurred.
Mahmood's rival for the nomination was Sukhvinder Stubbs, a high-flying Sikh with a first class degree from Oxford. She was chief executive of the prestigious Runnymede Trust and a member of the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.
Her supporters complained she was a victim of ethnic and gender prejudice. Rival camps also signed statements complaining that Mahmmod's team of supporters obtained postal votes for party members in Perry Barr, sometimes without their permission, and cast them for their candidate.
A court appeal to set aside Mahmood's selection was rejected last month, as were complaints to the Labour Party headquarters in London. Former MP Rooker, who backed Stubbs, has meanwhile predicted that Mahmood's selection will be a long-term embarrassment for Labour.
Sikh and Hindu voters predominate among Asian constituents in Perry Barr, but Kashmiri Muslims have had the whip hand for some years in the local Labour constituency association.
OTHER PROFILES Ashok Kumar Piara Khabra Parmjit Dhanda Mohammed Sarwar Keith Vaz Marsha Singh
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