6 Indian-Americans seek to create history in US presidential elections 2012

WASHINGTON: Six Indian-Americans are in the race for a seat in the US House of Representatives, with the latest polls and mainstream media saying that three of them have bright chances of winning.

Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 US states on November 6.

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Ami Bera, the Democratic Party candidate from California's seventh Congressional District, is said to have the best chances to win the Congressional elections. Pitted against incumbent Republican Dan Lungren, Bera has outraised his opponent.

So far only two Indian-Americans have been elected to the US Congress. Dalip Singh Saund was the first Indian-American elected to the House of Representatives in 1950s, while Bobby Jindal, now the Louisiana governor, was the second one.

Bera is followed by Republican young gun Ricky Gill, in the neighbouring California's ninth Congressional District.

Gill who barely managed to turn 25 to file his nomination papers is trying to unseat three-term incumbent Democrat Jerry McNerney.

A weak Republican candidate in Michigan's 11th Congressional District has brightened the chances of Democratic Dr Syed Taj, who hails from Bihar and is the younger brother of Syed Shahbuddin. Taj has his Republican rival Kerry Bentivoli to contend with.

Contesting for the second consecutive time from Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional District, Iraq war veteran Dr Manan Trivedi of the Democratic Party has been given a "Lean Republican" status by The New York Times.

New Jersey's Democratic candidate Upendra Chivukula's seat has been determined as "Lean Republican" by Real Clear politics. Jack Uppal, a Democratic candidate from California's fourth Congressional District, is probably the weakest of the six Indian-American candidates in fray.