US Election 2020: Why Indian Americans are important for both parties

1.6 million Indian Americans are voting this year. They make up only 1 per cent of the population. But they have significant political clout, which explains the choice of Kamala Harris, the vice-presidential pick of Joe Biden. It's an attempt to woo the Indian diaspora.

But has it worked?

Traditionally, Indian Americans have leaned towards Democrats. The trend may not have changed significantly this year even though many in India seem to support Donald Trump.

Indian Americans, according to recent opinion polls, are still backing the democrats.

Has Trump gained at all?

He has.

In 2016, only 16 per cent Indian Americans said they will vote Trump. In 2020, 28 per cent have said they support Trump.

However, these are just opinion polls. They tend to get it wrong, more often than not.

Both Democrats and Republicans have gone out of their way to reach out to the Indian diaspora. On August 4, the Trump campaign announced the formation of a group called 'Hindu voices for Trump'. Two days later, the Democratic National Convention organised an interfaith service.

The Republicans are banking on Trump's camaraderie with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the success of Howdy Modi event in Houston and the Namaste Trump event in India.

The Democrats are banking on Kamala Harris' Indian roots.

But why is there a rush to win Indian American votes? Let's take a look at numbers. Indian Americans make up 1 per cent of US population. But they own one-third of all Silicon Valley start-ups. 8 per cent of America's high-tech firms were founded by Indian Americans.

Consider all of America's Fortune 500 companies. 2 per cent of them are led by Indian Americans. Examples include, MasterCard, Microsoft, Alphabet, Adobe and IBM. 1 in every 7 doctors in the US is of Indian descent. At least 10 Indian Americans are lawmakers.

According to some estimates, half of America's motels are owned by Indian Americans. This section happens to be very affluent. The median income of an Indian American household is higher than that of other Asian communities.

It is easy to understand why both parties are vying for this important vote bank.

Memorable moments of US Election 2020 campaign:

This has been an election campaign to remember, but there have been some moments that are sure to linger on in everyone's mind.

US President Donald Trump broke into a dance in his campaign rally in Michigan. The YMCA dance made global headlines.

Next was the fly on Vice-President Mike Pence's head. During the Vice-Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, a fly sat on Pence's head when he was live. This amusing development was witnessed by millions around the globe.

Then there was "Shut Up Man".

First Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden saw the former make so many interruptions that Joe Biden actually told the president to "Shut Up".

Another memorable and surprising moment was when Donald Trump announced that he was positive for coronavirus.

And to top it all, Trump elicited many reactions across the media when he said that he would kiss everyone. He said this in Florida rally. This was his first rally after recovery from coronavirus infection.