Amish Shah, Pia Dandiya join centrist New Democratic Coalition

Washington: Newly elected Indian-American US lawmakers Amish Shah and Pia Dandiya have joined the New Democrat Coalition, which now has 142 members, making the centrist group the largest ideological bloc within the party.

The New Democrat Coalition, led by Brad Schneider, inducted 40 new members-elect into the group on Tuesday, the single largest addition in its 30-year history.

"When I first came to Congress in 2012, the New Dems had 43 Members. Fourteen years later, New Dems are proud to welcome 40 new members, our largest freshman class ever, and now number 142 Members," Schneider said in a statement.


Also Read: Democrats plan probes of Musk, Miller, corporate America after midterm rout

The other prominent caucus within the Democratic party - the progressives - has over 100 members and is led by Texas Congressman Greg Casar with lawmakers Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna as members.

Besides Shah and Dandiya, the New Democrat Coalition has Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam, Shri Thanedar and Raja Krishnamoorthi as members.

Thanedar and Krishnamoorthi are not part of the new House of Representatives that will take office on January 3 as they lost the Democratic primary for the House and Senate respectively.

Shah, an emergency medicine doctor and three-term member of the Arizona House, traces his familial roots to Gujarat.

Born in Chicago, Shah's parents immigrated to the US in the 1960s. He earned his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and his medical degree at Northwestern University Medical School as part of the Honours Program in Medical Education.

Shah's father is Jain and his mother is Hindu.

He received a full merit scholarship to obtain a Master's in Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by residency training in Emergency Medicine at New York City's busiest Level-1 trauma center.

Dandiya is a first-generation American who has dedicated her career to strengthening communities as a high school principal, policy leader and technology innovator, according to her campaign website.

Also Read: Most Americans want new Democratic Congress to end Trump's Iran war, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Born and raised in Palm Beach County in Florida, Dandiya started her career as a teacher and was a high school principal in Harlem.

She later served as a White House Fellow at the Domestic Policy Council and Department of Education under Democratic and Republican presidents before working on public-sector initiatives at Apple.

Founded in 1997, the New Democrat Coalition works across the aisle and across the Capitol to advance innovative, inclusive, and forward-looking policies.

The Coalition's primary goal is to find workable solutions to the most pressing issues facing the nation - from ensuring every American has access to quality health care to increasing affordable housing in every community.