In 2012, during Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, a 21-year-old Indian-American political science student at Ohio State University interned for Scott Jennings, the Ohio state director and senior adviser to the campaign.
Two years later, Niraj Antani has himself been elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, becoming one of the youngest state lawmakers in the US.
Antani attributes his victory to working harder than his opponents and talking about issues that the voters care about. “I believe we have real problems facing our state and that they must be addressed. We must work to create jobs and opportunity for all,” he told ET Magazine in an email interview from his home in Miamisburg, Ohio.
Antani, who will be a new face in the Ohio state house next year, won from the house district 42 in southern Montgomery County, defeating his 62-year old Democrat opponent Patrick Morris. This was after winning the Republican Party’s nomination for the seat over four candidates, all older than him, when their incumbent died earlier this year.
The 23-year-old doesn’t see his youth as a disadvantage in politics. In fact, for him it’s an enabler. “It is an advantage. I bring new ideas to the government, new approaches to problem-solving. Some may think I’m too young, but I believe my generation deserves a voice,” he says.
Republican and Proud
His parents immigrated to America in 1978 and his mother Kokila has been supportive of his campaign. His father Jaimini — who died in 2010 — worked for tech major Hewlett-Packard for 35 years. “My parents immigrated from India; I was born here. The American Dream, for me, means that anyone who works hard can achieve their dreams,” he says.
Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian American member of the United States House of Representatives from 1957 to 1963, was a Democrat; historically Indians and other immigrant communities have been drawn to the Democratic Party.
However, for the next generation the trend is changing with many young Indian Americans being drawn to the resurgent Republican Party, feels Antani.
“Indian Americans have a conservative culture and are conservative fiscally. I hope more Indian Americans get involved in politics,” he says, having connected with the community in his district in a big way during his campaign. “They were very supportive,” he adds. Antani will become the second Indian American member of the Ohio state house after Jay Goyal, a Democrat, who was a member for three terms from 2007 to 2013.
Changing Trends
Sanjay Puri, chairman of US India Political Action Committee, a bipartisan organization that supports all Indian American community members running for various public offices in the US, is upbeat about the success of various community members in the elections.
“It is an endorsement of the trend that second- and third-generation Indian Americans are now looking beyond traditional fields like medicine and engineering that their parents and grandparents looked at and now feel confident in public life and are participating in large numbers,” he says.
Puri adds that there were some excellent Indian-American candidates in the current US elections, though some may have lost because of the Republican wave or an entrenched incumbent.
“Indian Americans originally settled down on the two coasts — California and New York [both Democratic strongholds] — and were inclined towards supporting the Democrats. But things will change if the Republicans do a proactive outreach towards the community since Indian Americans are fiscally conservative and socially liberal,” adds Puri.
Significantly, the most high-profile victory for the Indian American community in the just-concluded US election was of Nikki Haley — the Republican governor of South Carolina, who won a second consecutive term.
Antani, for his part, will focus on creating jobs and opportunity for all in his district as a freshly minted lawmaker — and at the same time continue with his legal education at the University of Dayton.
Source: The Economic Times
