US presidential election: ‘Indian Americans for Harris’ grassroots campaign launched

PTI, Sep 4, 2024, 11:11 AM IST

Washington: A group of eminent Indian-Americans has launched a grassroots campaign in support of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in key battleground states.

Vice President Harris, 59, who is of mixed parentage, her mother immigrated to the US from Chennai and her father moved to the country from Jamaica, is up against Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump, 78.

The “Indian Americans for Harris” campaign — launched on Tuesday — aims at ensuring that the presidential elections make history by electing Harris as the first person of Indian heritage to lead the US, according to the group’s members.

“This is the first time we have someone whose mother is from India. She has got Indian heritage and culture. What she has learned, I felt that we Indian Americans should support her beyond the party line,” North Carolina-based businessman Swadesh Chatterjee told PTI.

It has never happened in the history of the US “to have somebody named Kamala running for the highest office in this country”, said Chatterjee, who received India’s third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contribution to strengthening India-US relationship.

Listing North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia as key battleground states, Chatterjee said the “grassroots” campaign plans to mobilise Indian Americans in such states to come out and vote for Harris to make her the first person of Indian origin as the president of the US.

The campaign’s website stated Harris’s biracial heritage is a perfect example of America as a melting pot. The US has been a refuge for people from all over the world, and Kamala’s background resonates with many in the country, where at least 12.5 per cent of the population identifies as biracial.

It stated the Indian-American community is now nearing the five million mark in the US, with one-third of them born in the country. Harris is proud to have been raised by an Indian mother, with a deep connection to Indian culture and heritage.

Members of the group said the time has come to celebrate that Indian-Americans, one of the most successful immigrant groups in the US, will have one of their own in the highest office, as a leader of the free world. It is a proud moment, both globally and for America, they said.

The group said, “We urge you to support Kamala Harris as she is the right choice for the right time. As the world grapples with inequities and disharmony, we need her to lead the US and the free world.” “As the first woman of Indian descent to serve as Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris represents a significant milestone in our community’s history. Her leadership and values resonate with our collective aspirations for a more just, equitable, and inclusive America,” it said.

Harris was thrusted into the presidential election cycle juts 100 days before the November 5 poll after President Joe Biden announced to drop out of the race.