India closely watching Indian origin candidates in US polls
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal speaks with employees in the oil and gas industry about U.S. President Obama`s moratorium on Deep Water Drilling on June 10, 2010 in Houma, Louisiana. Jindal is one of only two Indian-Americans have been elected to the US Congress.
Six Indian-origin candidates have India closely watching this US election, as India's diaspora continues to grow in influence in America.
According to India's DNA newspaper, Dr Ami Bera, the Democratic Party candidate from California's seventh Congressional District, has the best chance of winning a Congressional seat out of the six Indian-Americans vying for a seat in the House of Representatives.
So far, only two Indian-Americans have been elected to the US Congress. Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian-American elected to the House of Representatives in 1950s, while Bobby Jindal, now the Louisiana Governor, was the second, DNA noted.
The Indian-origin candidate with the second best shot is Republican Ricky Gill, from California's ninth Congressional District, the paper said.
After Gill, a weak Republican candidate in Michigan's 11th Congressional District has brightened the chances of Democratic Dr Syed Taj, who hails from Bihar and is the younger brother of Syed Shahbuddin, a noted Muslim scholar, DNA reports.
Read on here for the full list and comparative stats on the fund-raising efforts of the candidates.
The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?