<p>With the November Congressional polls entering the crucial last 90 days, five Indian-origin candidates, including 25-year-old "young gun" Ranjit 'Rikky' Gill, and a Hindu-American woman remain in the race for the US House of Representatives.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The primaries phase of the Congressional elections has kicked out four Indian-Americans from the race. It also resulted in the shocking defeat of Congressman Hansen Clare of Bangladeshi origin.<br /><br />One Nepali-origin candidate could also not pursue his political ambition beyond the primary elections.<br /><br />Five Indian-Americans remaining in the contest and giving a tough fight to their opponents in their respective Congressional districts are Upendra Chivukula from New Jersey; Ami Bera and Ranjit 'Rikky' Gill both from California; Manan Trivedi from Pennsylvania; and Syed Taj from Michigan.<br /><br />Of them, only Gill is from the Republican Party while the rest four represent the Democrats.<br /><br />Interestingly Bera, Trivedi and Taj are doctors, while Chivukula is currently Deputy Speaker of New Jersey assembly.<br /><br />25-year-old Gill, the youngest of all and unmarried, has attracted national attention and endorsements from top Republican leadership.<br /><br />The victory of Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu-American, in the November elections is said to be taken for granted given that her Congressional seat is a strong bastion for the Democrats. As such, Hindu-Americans have already started the celebrations.<br />So far only two Indian-Americans have been elected to the US Congress.<br /><br />Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian-American elected to the House of Representatives in 1950s, while Bobby Jindal, now the Louisiana Governor, was the second one.<br /><br />However, Indian-Americans closely following the campaign hope that there would be an addition to this exclusive club; given that some of them are in dead heat with their opponents, according to latest polls; while almost all of them surprised their opponents by raising substantial amount of money.<br /><br />According to recent opinion polls, Gill is in a "dead heat" with his Democratic opponent and incumbent Jerry McNerney from California's 9th Congressional District.<br />Running for the second consecutive time, Trivedi is fast closing the gap with his incumbent Republican opponent Congressman Jim Geralch.<br /><br />Bera too is being considered by pollsters' neck-and-neck with his opponent Dan Lungren.<br />Not surprising, for election observers, is the pace at which these candidates have been raising funds, given that Indian-Americans have the highest per capita income among various ethnic groups here.</p>
<p>With the November Congressional polls entering the crucial last 90 days, five Indian-origin candidates, including 25-year-old "young gun" Ranjit 'Rikky' Gill, and a Hindu-American woman remain in the race for the US House of Representatives.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The primaries phase of the Congressional elections has kicked out four Indian-Americans from the race. It also resulted in the shocking defeat of Congressman Hansen Clare of Bangladeshi origin.<br /><br />One Nepali-origin candidate could also not pursue his political ambition beyond the primary elections.<br /><br />Five Indian-Americans remaining in the contest and giving a tough fight to their opponents in their respective Congressional districts are Upendra Chivukula from New Jersey; Ami Bera and Ranjit 'Rikky' Gill both from California; Manan Trivedi from Pennsylvania; and Syed Taj from Michigan.<br /><br />Of them, only Gill is from the Republican Party while the rest four represent the Democrats.<br /><br />Interestingly Bera, Trivedi and Taj are doctors, while Chivukula is currently Deputy Speaker of New Jersey assembly.<br /><br />25-year-old Gill, the youngest of all and unmarried, has attracted national attention and endorsements from top Republican leadership.<br /><br />The victory of Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu-American, in the November elections is said to be taken for granted given that her Congressional seat is a strong bastion for the Democrats. As such, Hindu-Americans have already started the celebrations.<br />So far only two Indian-Americans have been elected to the US Congress.<br /><br />Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian-American elected to the House of Representatives in 1950s, while Bobby Jindal, now the Louisiana Governor, was the second one.<br /><br />However, Indian-Americans closely following the campaign hope that there would be an addition to this exclusive club; given that some of them are in dead heat with their opponents, according to latest polls; while almost all of them surprised their opponents by raising substantial amount of money.<br /><br />According to recent opinion polls, Gill is in a "dead heat" with his Democratic opponent and incumbent Jerry McNerney from California's 9th Congressional District.<br />Running for the second consecutive time, Trivedi is fast closing the gap with his incumbent Republican opponent Congressman Jim Geralch.<br /><br />Bera too is being considered by pollsters' neck-and-neck with his opponent Dan Lungren.<br />Not surprising, for election observers, is the pace at which these candidates have been raising funds, given that Indian-Americans have the highest per capita income among various ethnic groups here.</p>