Indian-American women politicians are making a mark in this year’s general elections in the US with Democrat Kamala Harris all set to be elected as the first Senator from the community.
This is seen as a direct effect of Ms Clinton, 69, the first woman candidate of a major political party and also a result of political success of two-term South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who as the first Indian-American woman governor has made an impact at the national level.
Two top positions in the Ms Clinton campaign are held by Indian-American women.
Neera Tandon, who heads the Centre for American Progress, a top American think-tank, has been appointed as co-chair of the Ms Clinton transition team. She is highly being speculated as a potential Cabinet nominee in a Ms Clinton administration. She was a key member of the Democratic Platform team.
Ms Clinton’s closest personal aide Huma Abdein, whose father was from India and mother from Pakistan, is the vice-chairwoman of the Ms Clinton campaign. She is considered as one of the most powerful individuals in the Ms Clinton campaign.
Mini Timmaraju, who once served as chief of staff of Congressman Ami Bera, is women’s vote director at Hillary for America. Maya Harris is one of the key policy advisers to the Ms Clinton campaign. Based in California, Shefali Razdan Duggal is a key player in Ms Clinton’s national financial team.
Two Democratic leaders Kamala Harris and Pramila Jayapal are all set to make history this year. Kamala, 51, is all set to be elected as the first Indian-American senator from California while Pramila, 51, is all set to enter the US House of Representative.
Indian-American women are also not far behind in the Republican Party. California-based Harmeet Dhillon is the National Committee woman in the Republican National Committee.
