WASHINGTON: Indian-American On Running For Virginia Lt Governor

WASHINGTON: Indian-American businessman and
community leader Puneet Ahluwalia, who is running for the powerful office of
the Virginia Lieutenant Governor, is seeking to bring diversity in the
country’s political landscape at a time when there is a sudden national surge
in violence against the Asian-American community.

The
Republican Party is slated to pick its nominee for the Lieutenant Governor at a
hybrid convention on May 8.

“I
came to this country with almost nothing, built a business, married a wonderful
woman who also immigrated, and raised a beautiful family,” Ahluwalia told
PTI ahead of the convention.

“Nadia
(his wife who is an Afghan-American) and I have had our struggles along the way
– as every family does. And, like most people of colour, we’ve occasionally
faced bias and prejudice, but we’ve never lost sight of the blessings we’ve
enjoyed by being citizens of this wonderful country,” Ahluwalia said.

Over the
past several months, he and his team of volunteers have been crisscrossing the
entire state of Virginia campaigning on his platform to create jobs and
economic book of Virginia.

“Now,
I’m running for Lieutenant Governor. One reason is because I want to help every
American share in the opportunity and blessing of America – no matter the
colour of their skin, the language they speak, or the country where they were
born,” he said.

A
successful businessman, Ahluwalia has been with the Republican Party for 20
years.

“I’m
convinced our economic wellbeing and the future of our families depends on
upholding the fairness and freedom that America stands for when it stands at
its best. We are a country of law and order,” he said.

He noted
that his party has not been able to reach out to other ethnic and religious
minorities in the state.

“The
tone matters. The conditioning matters. It’s a matter of reaching out to them.
This is not a matter of policy,” he said, adding that the Republican
Party’s policy perfectly fits with the immigrant community, the ethnic communities
like Asian-Americans.

Ahluwalia
said there has been a great support to his candidacy not only from the rural
Virginia, but also from the ethnic communities, be it the Indian-Americans,
Afghan-Americans, Vietnamese-Americans or Korean-Americans.

During
his campaigning, Ahluwalia said he finds that there has been an outpouring of
support.

“It
was only a matter that we have not reached out to them earlier. There is a need
for our leadership to engage with them,” he added.

More than
3,000 incidents of abuse against Asian Americans were reported between March
and December 2020, according to Asian American advocacy groups. There were only
216 reported cases in 2019, according to FBI statistics.