Ivanka Trump to celebrate Diwali at Hindu Temple in Virginia

Rajadhani Temple is located in the Loudon County area of Virginia.

After her father addressed an Indian American Hindu gathering last week, Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is getting ready to celebrate this year’s Diwali – the festival of lights – at a Hindu temple in the state of Virginia.

The visit of Virginia is seen as another attempt made by the Trump campaigners to woo the support of the Indian American community which largely supports the Democratic Party.

According to campaign managers, Ivanka is planning to celebrate Diwali at the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday. Even though both candidates – Trump and Clinton – have acknowledged the contributions made by the Indian American Community, this is the first time that a member of a candidate’s family is visiting a Hindu temple.

Trump during his address at a fundraising event organized by Republican Hindu Council had said that He is a great fan of India and Hindus. It was the first time that a presidential candidate addressed an Indian American event. The fundraising event that collected fund to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh was attended by more than 5,000 people.

Ivanka who has been supporting her father all through his campaign is a successful businesswoman. The visit of Ivanka, according to Rajesh Good, the leader of Indian American Community, Virginia will “go a long way in breaking the stereotype,” that the campaign “represents only angry white voters.”

“This is a big positive for the community,” he told PTI.

Rajadhani Temple, located in the Loudon County area of Virginia was inaugurated in 2000 and is considered as one of the oldest temples in the US. The Virginia area has seen the maximum increase in the number of Indian American during the past decade.

The attempts made by the Trump campaign managers in recent days to get the support of the Indian American community shows the shift in the role played Indian Americans in the American society.

According to the poll stats of 2008 and 2012, the candidate who wins the Loudon Country have bigger chances of winning Virginia. According to PTI, over the last 16 years, the number of Indian Americans living in the area has seen significant growth. This is mainly attributed to the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport.

According to statistics, there were just 1,200 Indian Americans in the Loudon area but the number increased exponentially in 2010 reaching 12,000. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 strong Indian-American community members.