The only Indian American in congress is in a tight race to win reelection in his district near Sacramento, reports the Times Colonist.
Incumbent Democrat Ami Bera is facing Republican challenger Doug Ose.
Sikh political activists are sending out 15-hundred mailers targeting Indian American voters blasting Bera position on the Sikh riots in 1984 that left thousands dead.
They charge him with not taking a stronger stand on the Indian government’s involvement in the riots. In a tight race, the strategy of siphoning Indian American votes from Bera could prove successful.
“It was a huge, horrible crush to the psyche of the Sikh community worldwide,” said Harmeet Dhillon, a Sikh and Ose volunteer.
But political analyst Karthick Ramakrishnan thinks the strategy might be misdirected saying Indian Americans care more about domestic politics than “homeland politics.”
“I know people who lost family members,” said Bobbie Singh-Allen, a school board member. “To use this to divide the community is a disservice because you are basically saying Dr. Bera is not a friend or a supporter.”
You can read more about this campaign against Bera in the Times Colonist.