Two Indian Americans elected to Virginia state legislatures

New York: In a significant political development, two Indian Americans were elected in special elections to Virginia’s state legislatures, helping the Democratic Party maintain its slender majority despite the national Trump wave that swept through last year’s election.

Kannan Srinivasan was elected to the State Senate, while J.J. Singh secured a seat in the State House of Delegates on Wednesday. In a political reshuffle, Singh takes over the seat in the House previously held by Srinivasan, who now succeeds Suhas Subramanyam in the Senate after Subramanyam resigned following his election to Congress in November.

The special elections also saw Republican Ram Venkatachalam, another Indian American, running against Singh, but he was defeated.

Srinivasan, originally from Tamil Nadu, is set to join the ranks of Indian American lawmakers in the Virginia State Senate, alongside Hyderabad-born Ghazala Hashmi. Before moving to the US, Srinivasan worked as a chartered accountant in India. Over his 30-year career in business and finance in the US, he was elected to the Virginia House in 2023.

J.J. Singh, a Virginia native, is likely to become the first legislator in the US to wear a turban, though other Sikhs have been elected to office. Singh previously worked in the White House Office of Management and Budget under former President Barack Obama and has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia, as well as a senior advisor in the US Senate.

These elections were pivotal for the Democrats, who hold only a one-seat majority in both chambers of the Virginia legislature, a state with a Republican governor. Despite Vice President Kamala Harris’s victory in Virginia over Donald Trump, the national political climate raised concerns about potential Republican influence on local races. The Democratic Party invested heavily in these elections to ensure a victory for their candidates.

With IANS inputs