India Post News Service NEW YORK: As the battle lines are being drawn between all the 2008 presidential campaigns ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, the leading candidates are making significant outreach efforts towards the Indian-American community. Following the hotly contested Florida primary, Republican front runner Senator John McCain told the US- India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), "I value the Indian-American community’s contributions to our great nation and thank those who have supported me here in Florida."

"It should no longer come as a surprise that those running for elected office in this country, but most especially those running this year for the presidency, devote a great deal of resources and hard work at communicating to Indian-Americans," says Sanjay Puri, Chairman of USINPAC.

"The Indian-American community is a very prosperous and well educated one that is passionately engaged in the public space and in the American political process." Kishan Putta, who heads the Asian American Coalition established by Senator McCain a couple of months ago, told India Post that while he was unaware of any Indian American community groups working on the Republican side (like the South Asians for Hillary or South Asians for Barack Obama on the Democratic side), his job was to make all out efforts to reach out to the Asian community.

"Senator McCain has established the Asian American Coalition and I am helping with the Asian American outreach through which we have found several Asian and Indian Americans to join the coalition. It’s growing very rapidly and we have high hopes for it." Through the coalition, Putta is focused on expanding support for his candidate.

"I’m trying to grow this Asian-American coalition; to get Asian American Chambers of Commerce, small businesses, Asian Americans elected/appointed officials; get them to be interested, get them looped in to support our candidate, ask their friends, family and colleagues to support McCain with their votes." Putta is currently the principal health policy adviser for the US Senate’s Republican Policy Committee where he works with the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House, and Senate health staff and advises them on health issues.

He had earlier worked on McCain’s Senate campaign in 2004. Although there are no Indian American groups in support of any particular Republican campaign, Putta says the community is definitely very active and involved formally or informally through fundraising, volunteering etc. "I don’t think it’s true that Indians are not very active on the Republican side," he said. "I am always hearing from Indian Americans who want to be involved.

They must not be forming associations necessarily, but they are definitely actively involved on both sides." Needless to say, Putta completely believes that Senator McCain is the right candidate to lead the country. "He’s beneficial to America and the world; he’s been in Congress for over 20 years and has never ever once asked for a Congressional budgetary earmark—he’s never asked for any pork, if you will, never asked for any special money for his state of Arizona from the federal budget. He’s a very disciplined and ethical person."

Putta adds that even if one does not agree with everything that McCain says, people always respect and trust John McCain to do the right thing with personal integrity and honestly. "But if that is all he offered, it wouldn’t be enough, he offers a lot more," Putta adds.

"I care deeply about healthcare reform in America and Sen. McCain has the best plan to reform the healthcare system, if you ask me." As for Sen. McCain’s views on India and Indian Americans, Putta says, "I do know he has a great deal of respect for India as a powerful democracy and growing economy. He’s always been good to Indian Americans and immigrants in general." Incidentally, Sen. McCain and his wife have adopted a daughter of South Asian descent.

"They have adopted a Bangladeshi daughter," Putta reveals. "In fact, the Senator’s wife does a lot of work in third world countries. They decided to lead by example by bringing a girl from Bangladesh to the United States for a medical treatment and eventually adopted her." Putta strongly believes that the Republican Party is the party with the ideas – "real strong, well thought-out ideas" – which have the best promise for America.

"It is not easy for voters to understand immediately, but they realize it eventually," he adds. Indian-Americans come from a rich democratic tradition and thus come to the polls. "Being from the largest democracy in the world, the Indian people have a long history with the democratic process and understand the value of their right to vote," says Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-9), a member of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans and the House Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia.

"Thus, when it comes to their participation in the election of America’s next president, Indian-Americans share in the dual heritage of their ancestors in India and that of their home country here in the United States. Florida’s large Indian-American community has an important role to play in this year’s Presidential Primaries."

Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL-19), also a member of the Congressional India Caucus and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Financial Services Committees echoes the importance of the Indian-American community in this process, "The Indian-American community is a vital and important force in the American fabric and it is so important that the priorities of this community are felt by elected officials of both political parties."