Hindu Americans could play a key role in Prez Biden's re-election: official

US President Joe Biden (Photo: AP/PTI)

The Democratic Party must mobilize Hindu Americans as they can play a crucial role in President Joe Biden's re-election next year, given the setback his administration is facing from Muslim Americans amid the war between Israel and Hamas, said a prominent Indian foreign minister. American fundraiser for the party.

Ramesh Kapur, a political fundraiser from Massachusetts who was here to attend the Democratic National Committee (DNC) winter retreat, said that Hindu-Americans and Indian-Americans have traditionally been overwhelming Democratic supporters, but in the last few election cycles the The Republican share of their vote banks has been on an upward trajectory.

Kapur, who was also invited to the White House by President Biden for the Holiday party, told PTI that he has submitted a detailed report to the DNC and party leaders on why Hindu votes have become “very crucial” to Biden's re-election campaign. before the 2024 general election.

Kapur, who claims he convinced California Governor Gavin Newsom in October to veto a bill banning caste discrimination, said he has submitted a fact-based report and made a series of recommendations to top leadership of the party and the campaign.

“I have been trying to get Hindus to support the Biden administration. Of course, 72 percent of Indian-Americans voted for Biden last time. We want to ensure that Hindu Americans are mobilized,” Kapur said.

“We have a bit of an uphill battle because the perception out there is that the Democratic party is anti-Hindus. I've spoken to the White House. I've spoken to the campaign to change that perception that's out there. That's what I'm trying to do. I am working with our campaign to ensure that we change the perception that is out there, Kapur told PTI in an interview.

Kapur said he conducted a survey based on the census and got state-wise, Muslim and Hindu votes.

“I compared them to make it understandable for the campaign. In the battleground states, we (Hindus) are not less than the Muslim votes,” he said.

Axios identified four battleground states in a recent report: Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

A battleground state is one in which the Democratic and Republican candidates both have a good chance of winning, and that is considered crucial to the outcome of a presidential election.

Many believe that Virginia, Michigan and Florida also play a role in determining the fate of the 2024 election.

In his report, Kapur says there are 172,000 Hindus in Georgia, compared to 123,000 Muslims.

Similarly, in Pennsylvania there are about 130,000 Hindus compared to 150,000 Muslims. In Arizona there are about 74,000 Hindus and about 110,000 Muslims. In Wisconsin there are 38,400 Hindus and 68,000 Muslims. In Virginia there are about 200,000 Hindus and about 170,000 Muslims.

In Massachusetts there are 75,000 Hindus to 131,000 Muslims, while in Florida there are 202,000 Hindus and 127,172 Muslims.

Kapur says that in its eight years, the Obama administration has “helped the Muslims” at the expense of “the Hindus.”

“Now that Muslims are upset about what is happening in the Middle East and they feel that the Jewish community… and Israel are getting more, they (the Biden administration) are taking their side more than Palestine and the Arabs. area,” he said.

Muslim Americans' anger was on full display at last week's DNC winter retreat in Washington, DC, where only one of their community's top fundraisers showed up.

“Instead of understanding the reality of what politics is, they get carried away… They are more upset because they think they have more influence based on the numbers they have reflected. That means being there, being part of the campaign, he said.

Kapur said he has recommended several things for the campaign, including visits to Hindu temples in key battleground states like Georgia and Virginia, to change the party's perceived anti-Hindu image.

The party, he said, has agreed to invite a Hindu priest to next year's Democratic Party convention in Chicago, which would nominate its candidate for the November 2024 presidential election.

“I am going to recommend to the President that first of all he should meet some of the Hindu leaders in the White House. He's met the Jewish leaders, and he's met the Muslim leaders. He must also meet the Hindu leaders. Kapur said.

He said he would also ask Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother (Shyamala Gopalan) was a Hindu, to go to the battleground states and visit some temples there.

“The Republican Party (leadership) does that. (Donald) Trump's daughter-in-law went to Rajdhani Temple (in Virginia). Governor Glenn Youngkin went to the Rajdhani Temple. That helped him get elected governor, he said.

First print: December 19, 2023 | 10:17 am IST