India Post News Service

NEW YORK: The Iowa Caucuses held Jan 3, in the run up to the Presidential race sprang unexpected surprises that will completely change the profile of the Presidential elections in the history of the United States of America.Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic front runner, and Mike Huckabee, the Republican underdog have emerged winners in the breakthrough Iowa Caucuses.

While John Edwards and Senator Hillary Clinton came in second and third places among the Democrats in the Presidential race, Mitt Romney and John MCain came in as far runners up among the Republican runners.Celebrating the Obama victory are his supporters in the Indian American community, who have been actively campaigning and volunteering for the Illinois senator over the past several months.

New York-based Raj Gilda, one of the founding members of the South Asians for Obama was ecstatic over the huge margin that Obama won by at 38 percent of the vote as against 30 percent for Edwards and 29 percent for Clinton.

“And even until a few weeks back, Clinton’s campaign seemed invincible,” Gilda points out as he expressed surprise at her lagging in the third position.“Sen. Obama has symbolized a positive campaign all along and that’s what has been seen to go down well with Iowans historically,” Gilda told India Post even as the final results of the Caucuses came in. “Secondly, Iowa is so much about the grassroots voters and not about absentee votes.

These are the people who actually show up with the express intent to vote. Thirdly, people are definitely ready for a change, which is showing even in the Republican vote.”Just as the polls showed, Gilda surmises it is the young Americans who have pushed Obama up with their support. “The major factor is the young voters,” Gilda said. “Once they get involved, you see a tremendous viral effect.”

Indeed, an overwhelming percentage of youngsters including women voted for Obama whereas those who voted for Clinton were predominantly those over 65 years of age.Gilda says Indian Americans are not very different from overall American population in their preferences. “Sen. Obama definitely resonates with the young professionals and students, a demographic that cares more for campaigning through use of technology rather than for major fundraising events.”Earlier, the US-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) said Indian Americans were watching along with the rest of country the presidential nomination process that began Jan 3.

Indian-Americans, the wealthiest and most educated minority group in the United States, have been much sought after by both Democratic and Republican parties ahead of these closely contested presidential elections.  It has been estimated that Indian-Americans could raise up to a total of $20 million for the two major political parties during the current presidential campaign.In spite of these things, however, Indian-Americans still only account for less than one percent of the population, so too do Iowans account for less than one percent of the population of the United States.

Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA-3rd) had earlier made a specific appeal to the Indian American community in Iowa to get up and vote. “The Indian-American community has traditionally been very involved in community and politics, and I encourage for this to continue when you go to your caucuses,” he had said.State Representative Swati Dandekar (D-IA-36th) echoed the call for participation in this most important of democratic practices. 

“This is a great nation and the Indian-American community is a part of it.  The Indian-American community in Iowa has an opportunity to choose our next President.  Therefore, whether we are Democrats or Republicans, we should all show up and participate in the caucuses like we always do. Our participation will show that we are part of the community. Our participation will also draw the attention of the political campaigns to our community.”

Although indicative of the trend to follow, there are several more primaries across the nation that the Presidential candidates have to go through in the next four weeks in the run up to the big race to the White House in November.