Donald Trump goes all out to woo Hindu Americans

Ab ki baar Trump sarkar? While US Democrats and Hillary Clinton certainly don’t think so, the official campaign for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is releasing a TV and digital campaign, to be broadcast across the US, aimed at the Hindu Indian community, to go on air and digital platforms tomorrow (on Wednesday). Launched through the official Indian American Advisory Council of the Trump campaign, this is the first time that a US presidential hopeful is reaching out exclusively to Indian Americans, Salabh (Shalli) Kumar, a Chicago based Indian American businessman and chairman of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), told ET on phone from the US.

The 59 second video starts with a Happy Diwali message and ends with the Republican presidential candidate saying ‘Ab ki baar Trump Sarkar’, borrowing the popular tagline from Indian PM Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha election campaign. It also features clips from the recent Humanity Against Terror rally, organised by the RHC in Edison, New Jersey, where Trump said that he was a “big fan of Hindu” and lighted a ceremonial lamp. In the video, he also says that he looks forward to working with PM Modi and that Hindus and Indians would have a good friend in the White House if he is elected.

“This is a strong message and the first time that a presidential candidate in America is reaching out to Hindu Indian community exclusively. We also saw him at the RHC programme where he addressed the community just three weeks before election day,” Kumar said. He is himself a big donor for Trump’s campaign having contributed over a million dollars.

“We are very positive about the outreach to Hindu Americans, who are over 4 million in number, and largely an entrepreneurial community. People were not aware about the differences on policy matters between Clinton and Trump which we are explaining to them. And in many areas such as the economy, jobs, India related policy and fight against terrorism, Trump’s policy resonates in a more positive way with them,” Kumar said. He added that in many of the swing states such as North Carolina, Ohio and Florida, the Hindu American vote could help Trump to again an edge over Clinton.

The Indian American lobby group, RHC, was launched late last year, and is reported to have raised over $1.5 million towards Trump’s campaign. “There are no issues over using our Hindu identity since Jewish Americans and many others too have powerful lobbies,” Kumar, who is also a strong supporter of PM Modi, said.

In another move to woo the Indian American community, Ivanka Trump, Donald's daughter, has announced she will celebrate Diwali at a Hindu temple this weekend. She will attend the festival of lights at Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly, Virginia, with Indian Americans.