A historic contest for Bobby Jindal

One of the most often heard sentiments of the 2004 elections is that ‘‘this election is the most important election of my life’’. From the Indian American community’s perspective, the 2004 elections has all of that and something else too: After nearly five decades, an Indian American is on the verge of being elected to Congress.

Bobby Jindal, the Republican candidate who lost the gubernatorial race in Louisiana, is almost sure to win a ticket to the Congress contesting from the suburbs of New Orleans this time around. The last time an Indian American made it to Congress was when Dilip Singh Saund won in 1956 from California. That too, was in a time when immigrants—especially coloured—were seen as a blot on the country and were not allowed to marry outside their community.

Jindal, a poster boy for a Republican Party eager to promote diversity, is seen by many as having a great future on Capitol Hill, keeping in mind his superb record in healthcare administration.

Jindal, incidentally, is contesting from a region that was once the stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan. Jindal’s abilities at both rhetoric and action, combined with his youth and zeal, have often drawn comparisons with rising Democrat candidate for the Senate, Barack Obama, whose father was a Kenyan immigrant and mother a Texan and belonged to the family of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. And like Obama, Jindal too has raised so much funds this election, that he is distributing it to Republican candidates in other states.