WASHINGTON: Indian-Americans are seeking not just a share in power in the US by getting elected as lawmakers but are also supporting others sympathetic to their cause in the November 3 midterm elections.
The outgoing US House of Representatives have six members of Indian origin, but the number is likely to shrink to four with Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois and Shri Thanedar from Michigan failing to clear the primaries.
Indian-American Congresspersons Ro Khanna (California-17), Pramila Jayapal (Washington-7), Ami Bera (California -3) and Suhas Subramanyam (Virginia-10) are up for re-election.
The US midterm elections are held halfway through a president's four-year term to elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress, and about one-third of the 100-member Senate, the upper house.
The polls also include elections for several state governors and legislatures, as well as some mayors and other local officials.
The results determine which party controls Congress and can influence the president's ability to pass legislation.
Amish Shah, an emergency medicine physician, is the Democratic nominee from Arizona's first district for the elections to the US Congress, while Pia Dandiya is in the fray from Florida's 22nd district.
Five-term Congressman Krishnomoorthi was eyeing to become the first Hindu US Senator from his home state of Illinois, but lost in the primary to fellow Democrat Juliana Stratton in March.
Thanedar lost the Michigan primary for the 13th Congressional district to Donavan McKinney, backed by the Democratic Socialist Alliance, a group that has come to wield considerable influence within the Democratic Party.
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur-turned-politician, is in the fray for Ohio Governor.
Endorsed by US President Donald Trump, Ramaswamy's campaign against Democratic nominee Amy Acton is facing headwinds.
"It is not enough to support Indian-Americans in the elections. We also need to support those sympathetic to the Indian diaspora and Hindus," Romesh Japra, a California-based cardiologist who founded the Americans4Hindus Political Action Committee (PAC), told PTI.
He said the Americans4Hindus is supporting candidates such as James Walkinshaw (Virginia 11th District), Suzan DelBene (Washington 1st District), Pia Dandiya (Florida 22nd District), Gregory Meeks (New York 5th District) -- all Democrats -- in the upcoming elections for the US House of Representatives.
The PAC has also extended support to Republican candidates Jenny Rae Le Roux (California-47th district) for the US House and incumbent US Senator James Risch for the upcoming elections.
"My advice to Indian-American candidates is that they should look at issues beyond the diaspora and focus on the aspirations of the Congressional districts they seek to represent," Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a former White House advisor during the tenure of President Joe Biden, said.
The Indian-American community has a strong presence in states such as California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
In battleground states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina, even one or two per cent vote matters to swing an election in favour of a particular candidate, Japra said.
Besides the Congressional candidates, Republican leader Sarita Komatireddy is challenging Democrat Letitia James for the post of the Attorney General of New York.
New York state is considered to be a Democratic stronghold, but Komatireddy, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, made her mark in the pre-election debate with James.
In Maryland, Hyderabad-born Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller is seeking re-election.
Kerala-born Nithya Raman, a Democrat, is in the fray for the post of Los Angeles Mayor against her one-time mentor and incumbent Karen Bass.
"The American Hindu community has a sizeable presence in the US. We have to have a seat at the decision-making table, or else we will end up being on the menu," Japra said, underscoring the importance of seeking public office from school board members to the US Senate.
Community leaders said despite the strong presence in states such as California and Texas, intra-community competition has resulted in a lack of representation of the Indian diaspora in elected offices.
"There have been instances of multiple Indian-Americans contesting elections against each other, which has resulted in the victory of a candidate from a numerically weaker community," a diaspora leader said, stressing on the need for unity to remain relevant politically.