Tuesday, December 23, 2025
ADVT 
International

'Samosa Caucus' Fails To Increase Its Strength In US Midterm Elections

Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Nov, 2018 12:49 PM
    The so-called Samosa Caucus - an informal group of the Indian-Americans in the US Congress - failed to increase its strength, even as its all four incumbent members were most likely to be re-elected to the House of Representatives in the highly polarised midterm elections held Tuesday.
     
     
    None of the more than half a dozen new Indian American candidates, many of whom caught national attention by giving a tough fight to their opponents and outraising them in the fund raisers, could make it to the House of Representatives, which is equivalent to Lok Sabha in the Indian parliament.
     
     
    However, Indian-Americans picked up more seats in the state assemblies. The community sent its member Ram Villivalam for the first time to the Illinois Senate and also elected a Muslim Indian-American Mujtaba Mohammed to the North Carolina State Senate.
     
     
    Chicago-born Ram Villivalam, elected unopposed, became the first Asian-American State Senator and the first South Asian-American member of Illinois General Assembly ever.
     
     
    For the first time, more than 100 Indian-Americans had entered the race in this mid-term elections, of which over 50 were on the ballot on Tuesday.
     
     
    Among them 12, including four incumbents, were running for the House and one for the Senate - a record in itself.
     
     
    In the eighth Congressional District of Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi defeated his Republican Indian-American rival Jitender Diganvker. Mr Krishnamoorthi would serve second term in the House of Representatives.
     
     
    Pramila Jayapal, the first Indian American to be elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, registered her second consecutive win from the seventh Congressional District of Washington State. In little less than two years, she has emerged nationally as the champion of immigrants, workers and human rights.
     
     
    Ro Khanna is expected to easily sail through the race for the House from the 17th Congressional District of California as he took an impressive lead over his GOP rival Ron Cohen. He was elected for the first time in 2016.
     
     
    Three-term Congressman Ami Bera, the senior-most among lawmakers in the Samosa Caucus, had taken a lead of about 2,500 votes over his Republican rival Andrew Grant, with over 96 per cent of the votes being counted in the seventh Congressional District of California.
     
     
    Notably, his previous three electoral victories came only after recounting of votes which took several weeks before the results were finally declared.
     
     
    Indian-American of Tibetan descent Aftab Pureval, 35, lost to GOP incumbent Steve Chabot. He was the first Democrat to get elected as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in more than 100 years.
     
     
    Indian-American woman Anita Malik lost to her Republican incumbent in the sixth District of Arizona, while Hiral Tipirneni was trailing behind GOP rival Debbie Lesko in the early tabulations.
     
     
     
    Former state department diplomat Sri Preston Kulkarni lost to his GOP incumbent Pete Olson from the 22nd Congressional District of Texas.
     
     
    A five-time incumbent, Rep Olson defeated his Indian-American Democratic challenger in the most heated 22nd Congressional District that the opposition had hoped to flip due to a large Asian-American population.
     
     
     
    The 40-year-old relied heavily on his ability to connect with the district's diverse population to give Democrats hope that he could pull off an upset in the district. About 20 per cent of the population in the district is of Asian heritage - more than any other district in Texas.
     
     
    Sanjay Patel, who runs a successful consulting business, lost to Republican Congressman Bill Posey, who has been winning the eighth Congressional District of Florida continuously since 2009.
     
     
    In the first Congressional District of Arkansas, Democratic Chintan Desai lost to Republican incumbent Rick Crawford, while Republican Harry Arora lost to incumbent Jim Himes in the fourth Congressional District of Connecticut.
     
     
    Successful entrepreneur Shiva Ayyadurai, who fought the Massachusetts Senate race as an independent, came a distant third. Democratic leader Elizabeth Warren registered a comprehensive win over her Republican rival Geoff Diehl to re-enter the US Senate.
     
     
    Democratic Nima Kulkarni defeated Joshua Neubert from the GOP to make her maiden entry into the Kentucky Assembly from State District 40. A practicing and recognised lawyer, she owns Indus Law Firm specialising in immigration, employment and business law.
     
     
    Mujtaba Mohammed entered the North Carolina State Senate from the Senate District 38. A former staff attorney at the Council for Children's Rights and assistant public defender, Mr Mohammed defeated Richard Rivette.
     
     
    Incumbent Jay Chaudhuri, an accomplished entrepreneur, was re-elected to North Carolina Senate from the State Senate District 15.
     
     
    Republican Niraj Atani, 27, registered his third consecutive electoral victory from Ohio House 42nd District. He is the youngest Indian-American elected official in the US. He is also the second Indian-American state elected official in Ohio history, and the first Indian-American Republican.
     
     
    "Representing the community in which I was born and raised is an incredible honour. I work hard every day to make it achievable for all Ohioans to have the opportunity to make their American Dream a reality," Mr Atani said in a statement.
     
     
    In Washington State, Manka Dhingra and Vandana Slatter were re-elected for the State Senate. Among others re-elected at the State level are Sabi Kumar in Tennessee and Ash Kalra (California).

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Mounties In B.C. Fine Driver For Speeding 90 Km-h Over Posted Limit

    Mounties In B.C. Fine Driver For Speeding 90 Km-h Over Posted Limit
    A driver in British Columbia has had their car impounded after traffic police in Maple Ridge clocked the vehicle travelling at more than 90 kilometres an hour over the posted speed limit.

    Mounties In B.C. Fine Driver For Speeding 90 Km-h Over Posted Limit

    Singapore Restores 164-Yr Old Hindu Temple

    Singapore Restores 164-Yr Old Hindu Temple
    Twenty artisans from India have joined scores of local devotees in the restoration of a 164-year-old Hindu temple, a declared national monument, here, in a nearly Rs 20 crore project.

    Singapore Restores 164-Yr Old Hindu Temple

    Pakistan Displays Bhagat Singh's Case File For The First Time

    Pakistan Displays Bhagat Singh's Case File For The First Time
    Eighty-seven years after Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, Pakistan on Monday for the first time displayed some records of the legendary freedom fighter’s case file including his execution certificate.

    Pakistan Displays Bhagat Singh's Case File For The First Time

    Australia Abolishes Skilled Expat Workers’ Visas Popular With Indians

    Australia Abolishes Skilled Expat Workers’ Visas Popular With Indians
    Australia has abolished its popular employer-sponsored 457 visa programme, widely used by Indians, replacing it with new stringent programme that requires higher English-language proficiency and job skills.

    Australia Abolishes Skilled Expat Workers’ Visas Popular With Indians

    2 Indian-Origin Brothers Charged For Laundering Over $250 Million By US Court

    2 Indian-Origin Brothers Charged For Laundering Over $250 Million By US Court
    Payza.com Allegedly Processed More Than $250 Million Of Proceeds From Ponzi Schemes, Child Pornography Rings, And Other Criminal Enterprises

    2 Indian-Origin Brothers Charged For Laundering Over $250 Million By US Court

    'We Are Sikhs' Campaign Wins Top US Public Relations Award

    'We Are Sikhs' Campaign Wins Top US Public Relations Award
    A campaign to create awareness of Sikhism and its followers in the US and fight prejudice has won a top award for excellence in public relations programming to promote public causes.

    'We Are Sikhs' Campaign Wins Top US Public Relations Award