New York (IANS): The race for US presidency in next year’s election is likely to see a Hindu representative and a senator of part-Indian-American descent vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Tulsi Gabbard, 37, the first Hindu elected to the US Congress, announced on January 11 that she will be running for president.
Kamala Harris, 54, who is of Indian and African-Jamaican descent and is identified as a member of the Christian Baptist sect, is expected to announce her candidature for the Democratic Party nomination next week, according to several news reports quoting sources close to her.
Adding to the mix, there is speculation that Nikki Haley, who quit as US Permanent Representative to the UN at the end of last last may seek the Republican Party nomination in the event that President Donald Trump is not up for re-election next year.
The former South Carolina Governor was the first Indian American to be a member of the US cabinet and has received some Republican Party grassroots support for a 2024 run.
Gabbard is not of Indian descent but comes from a Hindu family in Hawaii and took her oath office on the Bhagavad Gita when she was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2011 and after her three re-elections.
An independent-minded Democrat who has defied party leadership, Gabbard said in an interview on CNN: “I have decided to run and will be making a formal announcement within the next week.”
A combat veteran who has served in Iraq, Gabbard said of her reason for running for president: “There is one main issue that is central to the rest, and that is the issue of war and peace.”
She continues to be a member of the Army National Guard with the rank of major and while serving in Congress has been mobilized for emergency duties.
Gabbard has been a strong supporter of India and closer US-India ties as well as of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She has advocated cutting US aid to Pakistan and pressuring it to end its support international terrorism.
Gabbard, who was elected to Hawaii state legislature when she was only 21, is the youngest person running for the presidency so far for 2020.
India Tribune, as an English weekly newspaper, was launched in 1977 in Chicago by its publisher Prashant Shah with a lofty ideal to serve the Asian Indian community in the USA. Over the years, it has grown with all vigor, and now it is being published in three editions – Chicago, New York and Atlanta. India Tribune, a journal of its kind for the family in the USA, has been a household name for many Indians for over three decades with each issue commanding a readership of over 125,000.
