Indians prepare for Jindal victory

Residents of Malerkotla, Punjab, are buying fireworks and preparing sweets, getting ready to celebrate Rep. Bobby Jindal’s likely victory in the Louisiana gubernatorial primary on Oct. 20.

“We will dance and party all night long,” said Kumar Jindal, first cousin of the Indian-American Congressman, whose parents hail from Malerkotla. “We have not been this excited since we got cable TV.”

The sole Republican candidate in Louisiana’s unique all-candidate primary, Jindal needs more than 50 percent to win the governorship and become the first Indian-American to head a state. He’s so far ahead in the polls that analysts believe he will win the election even if President Bush comes to Louisiana to campaign for him.

“Louisiana doesn’t need any more disasters,” said one Democratic analyst, “but I have a feeling this is going to be a landslide.”

Added another analyst: “Thirteen people are challenging him in the election, but their chances of beating him are equal to Lou Dobbs’ chances of being appointed the ambassador to Mexico.”

Jindal’s opponents are trailing so badly, some are getting desperate, trying their best to smear him, without being racist. “You went to LSU, he went to Brown University,” one campaign ad said. “Think about it: Do you really want to vote for a Brown man?”

Another ad was more direct: “If you vote for Jindal, you’re voting against the environment. There’ll be more fumes in the air, partly from the pot of curry at the Governor’s mansion.”

The vast majority of Indian-Americans are Democrats, but many are supporting Jindal. “So what if he’s a Republican?” one man said. “Everyone has faults.”

That’s the kind of attitude that Jindal’s relatives in Punjab appreciate. “Whether he’s Democrat or Republican, we don’t care,” Kumar Jindal said, “as long as he has many spare bedrooms in the Governor’s mansion.”