US Elections 2020: Why Are Indian Americans Important For Both Democrats And Republicans?

The Indian American community is one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations in the US and have much greater influence in the business sector. While Joe Biden has chosen Kamala Harris for the Indians, Trump is banking on PM Modi's friendship. Read On.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at a campaign event, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

US Elections 2020: While the residents of the United States have queued up to cast their votes for the US Presidential elections, there has been a huge debate that why Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate. People have been wondering how the Indian American voters will affect the US Elections 2020. Follow LIVE UPDATES of US Elections 2020 If Joe Biden wins this election, America will witness Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate's vice president pick, not only become the first-ever woman vice-president the US has ever had but the first Black woman and Asian one as well. Biden's pick of Harris as his running mate has also placed a spotlight on the ever-expanding Indian American community in the US. Indian Americans are the fastest-growing immigrant populations At roughly 4 million, the Indian American community is one of the fastest-growing immigrant populations in the US, second only to the Mexican community. As the influence of Indian Americans in the US grows, they have increasingly morphed into a key demographic that, in the view of many political scientists, could come to play an important role in the current election. Also Read|US Elections 2020: If Donald Trump Doesn't Get Re-Elected As The President, How Will It Impact India? Indians Americans are likely to support Joe Biden and lean on Kamala Harris' Indian roots Traditionally, Indian Americans have leaned towards Democrats. The trend may not have changed significantly this year even though many in India seem to support Donald Trump. Indian Americans, according to recent opinion polls, are still backing the democrats. In 2016, only 16 per cent Indian Americans said they will vote Trump. In 2020, 28 per cent have said they support Trump. Both Democrats and Republicans have gone out of their way to reach out to the Indian diaspora. On August 4, the Trump campaign announced the formation of a group called 'Hindu voices for Trump'. Two days later, the Democratic National Convention organised an interfaith service. PM Modi and Donald Trump's strong friendship might woo the Indian American towards Republicans But the bonhomie between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on display first during the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston that drew crowds in excess of 50,000, and earlier this year at the 'Namaste Trump' event in Chennai, has lent credence to a theory that the traditional Democratic bias may be being chewed away. Let's take a look at numbers. Indian Americans make up 1 per cent of US population. But they own one-third of all Silicon Valley start-ups. 8 per cent of America's high-tech firms were founded by Indian Americans. Statistics on why Indian Americans are important for US Elections 2020 Consider all of America's Fortune 500 companies. 2 per cent of them are led by Indian Americans. Examples include, MasterCard, Microsoft, Alphabet, Adobe and IBM. 1 in every 7 doctors in the US is of Indian descent. At least 10 Indian Americans are lawmakers. According to some estimates, half of America's motels are owned by Indian Americans. This section happens to be very affluent. The median income of an Indian American household is higher than that of other Asian communities. It is easy to understand why both parties are vying for this important vote bank. Also Read|US Elections 2020: Donald Trump Feels 'Very Good' On Chances Of Winning; With No Mask On, Melania Trump Casts Her Vote Other Indians who held a position at the US Office While Harris has certainly attracted all the headlines, it is worth noting that she isn't the first American with an Indian background to hold elected office. In fact, Indian American representation in US politics has been growing significantly from Piyush 'Bobby' Jindal, who served as the governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016, to Nikki Haley, President Trump's choice for the position of US ambassador, to highly popular US Congress representatives Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna.