The upcoming election to the state of Louisiana on November 15 holds special interest for Indian- Americans, Piyush Bobby Jindal could become the first Indian-American governor of a US state.

Jindal was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father, an engineer, came to Louisiana to attend graduate school. His mother is a manager in the state's Department of Labor. The Rhodes Scholar, whose family migrated from Punjab before he was born, is credited with having turned the state's Medicare deficit into a surplus while he ran the system as secretary of the Department of Health.

Political analysts believe Jindal's ethnic background has not played a significant role in the campaign, except perhaps to increase his appeal. Jindal's ability to overcome the disadvantage of race is attributed to his grass root political agenda and his promise to introduce education reforms and abolish several state business taxes, which he says have made the southern state unattractive to business.

For more informatiion about Jindal and his campaign, please visit http://www.bobbyjindal.com/

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