WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): At least ten Indian Americans, almost all of them Democrats, have won local and state-level elections held in several parts of the country, reflecting the growing political empowerment of the ethnic community that constitutes a little over one per cent of the US population.
In Virginia, Hyderabad-born Ghazala Hashmi was re-elected to the State Senate for a third consecutive term. She was the first-ever Indian American woman and a Muslim to be elected to the Virginia State legislation.
Suhas Subramanyam was re-elected to the Virginia State Senate. He was elected to the House of Delegates for two terms in 2019 and 2021. A former technology policy advisor in the White House during the Obama Administration, Houston-born Subramanian is the first Hindu to be elected to the Virginia House.
Business leader Kannan Srinivasan, who immigrated from India in the 90s, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates from the India-American dominated Loudon County area. All three winners in Virginia are from the Democratic party as are the three winners from New Jersey.
In New Jersey, Indian Americans Vin Gopal and Raj Mukherji, both from the Democratic Party, were elected to the State Senate. Indian American Balvir Singh, a teacher, was re-elected to New Jersey’s Burlington County Board of County Commissioner.
In Pennsylvania, Neil Makhija, a Democrat, won the coveted position of Montgomery County Commissioner, while Indian American physician Dr Anita Joshi won the West District seat for Carmel City Council seat in Indiana.
Makhija is the first-ever Indian American or AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) to serve on a county’s board of commissioners in the Commonwealth’s 342-year history. Dr Joshi is the only Democrat to have won in the Republican bastion. Born and raised in the United States, Indian-American Priya Tamilarasan won the election for Gahanna City Attorney in Ohio. Non-profit Land Bank CEO Arunan Arulampalam of Indian origin who immigrated from Zimbabwe was elected as the Mayor of Hartford in Connecticut.
After their electoral victories, all the 10 Indian American candidates pledged to work for their constituents.