Washington: When Ami Bera was elected in the US House of Representatives in 2013, he was the only Indian-American in the Congress. Less than a decade later, in a sign of the growing influence of the community in politics, the so-called Samosa caucus, after Tuesday’s midterm elections, expanded to five members, all of whom are Democrats.
The four Indian-American incumbents — Bera and Ro Khanna (California), Pramila Jayapal (Washington state), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (Illinois) — have either been re-elected or are on the verge of being officially announced as winners in the House race by Wednesday.
They will be joined by Shri Thanedar from Michigan, who will become the first lawmaker of Maharashtrian-origin to be elected to the lower chamber of the US Congress. In a recent interview to HT, Thanedar described his roots in Belgaum, where he grew up and worked as a cashier in the State Bank of India, and Mumbai, where he pursued his masters and worked as a scientific assistant at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, before migrating to the US in 1979, at the age of 24.
He is the representative from Michigan’s 13th congressional district, which includes large parts of Detroit, home to a substantial Black and working-class White population. This is reflected in his priorities.
“Health care, education and demanding and fighting for racial equality. I consider it my responsibility to help people of colour and fight discrimination,” Thanedar said.
The growing influence of the Indian community in US politics was evident from its victories across various levels of government. Aruna Miller, the Andhra Pradesh-born daughter of immigrants, was elected as the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, the second highest office in a crucial state adjoining the US capital of Washington DC.
Indian-Americans also did well in state races: In Illinois, 23-year old Nabeela Syed is set to become the youngest legislator in the state general assembly, and, in Pennsylvania, emergency physician Arvind Venkat is on his way to becoming a member of the state legislature.
A senior Indian-American political activist, who is with the Democratic Party but did not wish to be named, said, “We are playing an active role at three levels — as leaders, as donors, and as an active demographic bloc seen as a swing constituency. But while there may have been some shift towards Republicans in some states where the party is already dominant, Democrats, as the results show, have remained the natural home for the community’s political aspirations. The community’s values on social justice, equality and representation align with Democrats. All big Indian-American winners are Democrats.”
The midterms, which saw an especially diverse ballot this time, were also good for others of South Asian origin. Nabilah Islam, born to Bangladeshi immigrant parents, was elected to the Georgia State Senate, while Sarhana Shrestha of a Nepalese-origin, won a seat to the New York state legislature from upstate New York. Texas state legislature is going to have its first two Muslim representatives: Pakistani-American Salman Bhojani and physician Dr. Suleiman Lalani.
