For the Indian American member of the U.S House of Representatives Ami Bera, this Deepavali was special, though he did not have much time to celebrate in the midst of a hectic campaign for reelection from California’s 7th District. Mr. Bera was at the forefront of the campaign that led to the U.S Postal Services releasing a special Deepavali stamp recently. “We are planning a small gathering to celebrate,” he told The Hindu by phone, on the eve of the festival of lights. But he is confident that there will be a bigger celebration on November 8, the election day. “The district has got to see me for the last four years and you can see their enthusiasm,” he said.
“The best way to get reelected is to do your job every day before the elections, and we have done a good job,” Mr. Bera said, taking a brief break on the busy weekend that he spent knocking doors and reaching out to as many people as possible. Mr. Bera said the questions posed by the presidential campaign have alerted Democratic voters, who are active in early voting and are taking a keen interest in this year’s races. “But we can’t take any voter for granted and we need to work as hard, until we cross the finish line,” he said.
In his congressional district, immigration is a key campaign issue. Scott Jones, the Sherriff of Sacramento County is Mr. Bera’s Republican opponent. Mr. Jones has placed himself firmly on the virulent anti-immigration side of the Republican Party. “My opponent sounds a lot like Donald Trump when talks about immigration…I talk about my story and America being a nation of immigrants. We should not change our values, we should continue to welcome people,” Mr. Bera said.
Mr. Bera, who is co-chair of the India Caucus in the U.S Congress believes regardless of who becomes the next President, the relations with India will stay on course. “Within Congress, the India caucus is one of the largest country caucuses, which has Democrats and Republicans. I think we all recognize the strategic importance of strengthening the India-US relationship. I think it is my obligation, our obligation to keep moving that relationship forward, regardless of who the president is. I think Hillary Clinton will be the next President, and the Clintons have a long history of friendships with India and we will continue to see an emphasis on that relationship. The other thing that is significant about this election is that we will potentially have couple of more Indian Americans in the U.S Congress soon,” Mr. Bera said, naming Raja Krishnamoorthi in Chicag and Pramila Jayapal in Washington among the most likely new members of the U.S House.
If reelected, the 51-year-old Mr. Bera will serve the third consecutive term. Kamala Harris in California, who is running for Senate, could become the first Indian American Senator in the U.S.
