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Five Indian-Americans in the race for US Congress
Monday November 05, 2012 07:31:04 PM,
Arun Kumar,
IANS
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Washington: While the
eyes of the world are on the closely-fought US presidential
elections, some three million Indian Americans are watching with
interest the fortunes of five from their community vying for a
seat in the US Congress.
Besides four Democrats and a lone Republican hoping to repeat the
feats of Dalip Singh Saund and current Louisiana governor Bobby
Jindal, the only two Indian-Americans to win a seat in the US
House of Representatives, a Democratic woman is also poised to
become the first Hindu to enter the Congress.
Democrat Ami Bera, a physician born in Los Angeles to Indian
immigrant parents, running for the second time for the 7th
Congressional District seat from California, received a boost when
he was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton and the local
Sacramento Bee.
The Centre for Politics at the University of Virginia too recently
moved the rematch between Bera, who has focused his campaign on
Medicare laws, and sitting Republican member of the House Dan
Lungren from a "toss-up" to "leans Democratic" in its updated "Sabato's
Crystal Ball" rankings.
Another race rated a "toss-up" is one between Republican Ranjit
"Ricky" Gill, a 25-year-old son of Sikh immigrants, and three-time
Democratic incumbent Jerry McNerney in California's 9th
Congressional District.
Born in Lodi, California, Gill, an agricultural business owner,
graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University's Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and then from
the law school at the University of California-Berkeley.
Endorsed by Florida former governor Jeb Bush and South Carolina's
Indian American Nikki Haley, Gill, who reached the
constitutionally-mandated minimum age of 25 just in time for the
election, would, if elected, become the youngest member of the US
House of Representatives.
Another Democrat running for New Jersey's 7th Congressional
district is Upendra Chivukula. He was was the first Indian
American to win a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and has
represented the 17th Legislative District since 2002.
Bihar-born, Syed Taj is the Democratic nominee for Michigan's 11th
congressional district. He stepped down from his post on the
Canton, Michigan, Board of Trustees and as Chief of Medicine at
Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn in March 2012, in order to
concentrate on his campaign.
Another son of immigrants from India, Manan Trivedi, a physician
and Iraq War veteran, is the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania's
6th congressional district. Trivedi was born and raised in
Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, and attended Boston University for
college and medical school.
The five Indian-Americans may or may not win, but Democrat Tulsi
Gabbard is poised to become the first Hindu to serve in the House
of Representatives.
Gabbard, who was elected as Hawaii's youngest state representative
in 2002, representing Oahu 42nd District, resigned from the
Honolulu city council to run for Congress from the heavily
Democratic Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District.
Born in Samoa, Gabbard is a Company Commander with the Hawaii Army
National Guard, and served two deployments to the Middle East.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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