“Hindu Americans, vital key voting bloc in swing states,” says Indian American lawmaker.
Indian American House member Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged two million Hindus in the US to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his Indian American running mate Kamala Harris.
It was the ‘dharma’ (duty) of the community to exercise their franchise, he said in a virtual keynote address at the formal launch of the ‘Hindu Americans for Biden’.
Krishnamoorthi, one of the four Indian-American House members, all Democrats, has represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional district since 2017.
The Indian American community, largely Hindu, has emerged as a vital and key voting bloc in several swing states since the historic nomination of Harris, the first black woman and first South Asian American to run on a major party’s national ticket.
“I feel it is so important to elect Joe Biden because of the Hindu moral value of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ (The world is one family) a core tenet of Hindus — we believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect,” said Krishnamoorthi.
READ: Indian American community rockets its way to relevance (September 4, 2020)
“It is an old saying in Washington DC, which is, if you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu,” said the Princeton and Harvard educated businessman and politician.
“And none of us on this zoom call or our families, or communities, or Hindu Americans as a whole can afford to be on the menu, and neither can our agenda,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important that you vote.”
Calling the Nov. 3 presidential election, as “the most important election of our lifetime before us,” he said, “Believe it or not, the two million Hindu Americans in this country will be a vital and key voting bloc in several swing states.”
“Not only Florida, but Virginia and Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin, and the list goes on and on,” Krishnamoorthi said. “It is our duty, indeed it is our dharma to vote,”
Biden is a man of faith, a man of principle, and most importantly, he’s a man who believes in equality, he said. “He believes that everyone should be treated the same with dignity and respect.”
For the first time, both Democrats and Republicans political parties have made specific outreach efforts to woo Hindu Americans.
To counter Biden campaign’s ‘Hindu Americans for Biden,’ the Trump campaign has launched the ‘Hindu Voices for Trump.’
Recognizing the voting potential of Hindu Americans during his maiden presidential bid in 2016, Trump addressed a rally for Hindus in New Jersey. His family members also visited Hindu temples in key battleground states like Virginia and Florida.
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Trump speaks Hindi in campaign ad for Hindu Americans (October 26, 2016)
Trump, Biden campaigns wooing Indian Americans (July 21, 2020)
1 Comment
Racism is hidden and deeply prevalent as much in U S as in India! Let not our leaders promote it anywhere specifically addressing a Race.