WASHINGTON:
President-elect Joe Biden’s Hindu-American and South Asian supporters are ramping up efforts to convince Georgia”s rapidly-growing Hindu population to support Democratic candidates in the January 5 Senate runoffs.
Hindu-Americans” population in Georgia has grown significantly in recent years, with approximately 100,000 living in the state, including naturalised citizens originally from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
While most of them live in the Atlanta metropolitan area, sizable numbers are also living in Savannah, Macon, and in the southwestern part of the state.
“Hindus in Georgia should ensure that their Senators will fight for inclusion and pluralism, and not those who seek to return the state to its darker days of racism and xenophobia,” said Hindu Americans for Biden co-chair Sohini Sircar.
The two Democratic candidates are Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock.
Hindu-Americans can seize the moment and help to bring about a more pluralistic vision for the country and a resounding defeat of Trumpism through their participation in the election and GOTV efforts, Sircar said.
In a joint press release, Hindu Americans for Biden and South Asians for Biden alleged that the Republican candidates – Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler – have made numerous racist and xenophobic remarks over the past few months, making it clear that their agenda would not fit with the aspirations of Hindus and other South Asians.
“Perdue, for example, feigned ignorance at the correct pronunciation of Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s name, despite serving as Senate colleagues over the past 4 years,” the statement said.
“Whether you live in Augusta, Avondale, Alma, or Athens, the Hindu American vote is going to be a force in the new Georgia. This is our community’s chance to tell the GOP emphatically that we’re not going back to the Old Dixie and the divisiveness of the Trump-Perdue-Loeffler agenda,” said Hindu Americans for Biden co-chair Murali Balaji.
South Asians for Biden National Director Neha Dewan said that Hindus outside of Georgia can help by joining in SAB phonebanks that are taking place several times a week until the election, as well as a postcard writing campaign targeting South Asian voters.
Dewan said Hindu-American voters in Georgia could be decisive to ensure an Ossoff-Warnock victory and a clear path forward for the Biden-Harris agenda.
“There is much at stake in the Senate runoff election. The outcome will determine our country’s recovery from COVID-19 and the economic collapse that has hurt millions of Americans, including Hindu Americans. Senators Perdue and Loeffler are willing enablers of the Trump agenda, and it is time to vote them out of office,” Dewan said.
Additionally, Hindu Americans for Biden will continue to promote the outreach efforts made by the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns, including messages specifically for the Hindu community such as both candidates’ recent Diwali greetings.
Hindu Americans for Biden will also update voters on important dates, such as the start of early voting, which begins December 14.
