Three Indian-Americans join US Congressional race

Anil Kumar, 62, a surgeon by profession, is running for House of Representatives from the 11th Congressional District of Michigan, which is a largely suburban area just outside of Detroit.

Kumar, a Democrat, has said that the crux of his platform will be a drive to create jobs in the communities around Detroit to help bolster the city's economy, and find ways to make healthcare more affordable for the area's low-income citizens.

Vietnam War veteran Rajive Patel, 65 is seeking to run for the House of Representatives as a democratic candidate from the North Carolina's 12th Congressional District.

In the May 6 primary, he is pitted against five others. A lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 20, of Greensboro, North Carolina, he has served in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade from 1968 to 1969.

After the Vietnam War, he attended Winston-Salem State University and Shaw University and was elected Mayor of East Spencer, North Carolina, from 1997 to 1999.

Engineer and entrepreneur Satish Korpe is among the latest Indian-American to enter the Congressional race.

An eminent community leader, Korpe is pitted against nine other Democrats in the June 10 primary for Congress in Virginia's District 8th District.

In addition to these three, several Indian-Americans are already in the electoral race for the US House of Representative.

Prominent among them include Upendra Chivukula from 12th Congressional District of New Jersey, Manan Trivedi from sixth Congressional District of Pennsylvania; Amerdeep Kaleka from the first Congressional district of Wisconsin; and Swati Dandekar from the first Congressional District of Iowa.

Ami Bera, the only Indian American Congressman and the third ever, is seeking his re-election from the 7th Congressional District of California.