Attempt to create more jobs in state.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Nikki Haley, the 41-year old Republic governor of South Carolina, said that she is looking forward to working with Indian companies in her state, saying that such an initiative would be beneficial to both India’s and South Carolina’s economies. Haley said that she and Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao have been in contact regarding this initiative, and that she is hopeful it will take off soon.
The statement comes on the heels of Haley’s announcement that she is running to defend her gubernatorial title next year. Haley has taken a lot of flak in recent weeks for not delivering on her campaign promise to create new jobs in South Carolina; the state’s unemployment rate is 8.1% as of last month, a rise from the rate of the preceding three months. She’s running against Democratic senator Vincent Sheheen in the 2014 election.
Nevertheless, Haley is still considered a star in the Republican Party. Her campaign announcement was endorsed by fellow Republican governor and Indian-American Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who is also considered one of the GOP’s top politicians. Haley held an announcement rally on Monday – which was attended by Republican luminaries such as Rick Perry of Texas and Jindal – where she told the crowd “If you think what we did in the first 2.5 years was great, wait until you see what we do next.”
When asked how she felt about more Indian-Americans taking political office, Haley replied that she was thrilled. Haley said that she admired the contributions of Indian-Americans in fields such as medicine and IT, but that it was high-time they began getting more involved in elected office.
Born in South Carolina to Sikh immigrants from Amritsar, Haley went to Clemson University and received her bachelor’s degree in accounting. Her political career began in 2004, when she was elected as to the House of Representatives for South Carolina’s Lexington County, making her the first Indian-Americans to ever hold office in that state. She became governor of the state in 2009, becoming the first woman to hold that office. She is currently the youngest governor in the US, at age 41.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com