'Trump Respects The Indian People'

'The relationship between India and the US, when Donald Trump was president, had been so much stronger.'

Dr Priti Pandya-Patel is a prominent leader and advocate for the South Asian community, currently serving as the chairwoman of the New Jersey Republican Party South Asian Coalition.

"I don't think the world will fear Kamala Harris. They don't fear her like Trump. They respect him, and I think that's the difference," Dr Pandya-Patel tells Rediff.com US Special Correspondent Abhijit J Masih.

What is your assessment of the current state of the race one day before the election? Which key issues do you think has resonated most with voters?

Everybody's very excited. This is the first time I actually see a lot of movement and a lot of talk about the elections, which I've never really heard from our community.

Everybody's talking about the elections, which means that everybody's thinking about it.

Now we have to make sure that they all go out and vote, which has been our weakness in past elections.

So we need to get as many people as we can to go and vote. That's number one. And the issues that I think are important are immigration and the economy.

Inflation has gone up and taxes have gone up, they are just afraid that if we continue the way that we are inflation is going to continue to go up, and taxes are going to continue to go up.

So, this is what everybody's really concerned about, especially in our community, and this is what I'm hearing everywhere.

What specific goals did the South Asian Coalition have in this election cycle, and what are the key accomplishments that you are proud of, which helped to mobilise voters within the community?

We wanted to bring mainstream candidates into the South Asian community. Introduce them to our community. That was number one.

Number two is we wanted to groom South Asians to contest and be Republican candidates.

We're very proud of the fact that we had Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy as presidential candidates. And the third thing that we want to do is grassroots education.

Educate the community about the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

I think if people could understand the difference and know what each party stands for and why, what one party policies are, versus the other, I think it's so much more favorable to the South Asian community.

Many Indians who live in New Jersey have come here legally. They want to make sure that they have that right to be here.

Nobody gave them a free ride to come in. So I think that's one of the things.

The other thing is job security and seeing what's happening in to the economy, I think is helping to mobilize our community more.

What do you think are the main factors that contribute to Trump's continued appeal among certain voter demographics, especially South Asians?

I think his connection and his value towards India. He's so big in India, and he has connected with the Indian people. He respects the Indian people.

The relationship between India and the US, when he was president, had been so much stronger. I think that's what made a difference.

He's so strong about making America great again, helping our families be safe in the US.

He also talked about how important it is to make sure jobs are here in the US. Those are the things that our community is looking at.

Our kids are graduating from college and they're having a hard time finding a job. We should never have this problem.

We have enough talented people here. These are some of the things that's appealed to our community.

I feel he can safeguard this country being president. The stock market is always going to be successful.

I think if it goes the other way, then we're going to have an issue. If we have the Democratic party coming in, we might have a market crash.

What are some of the biggest concerns South Asian voters have about the current administration, and how do you think those will impact voter turnout?

I think most South Asians may not realize the difference between Republicans and Democrats.

They're not even thinking about why they're voting for that person. So the biggest concerns to me are immigration, the border, on why they opened up the border, and why there's so much immigration, and the safety of our country.

As a woman in leadership, what do you believe Kamala Harris lacks that prevents her from breaking the ultimate glass ceiling and becoming the first woman, woman of color, and Indian-American President of the United States?

I think it's great that we have a woman that's contesting. I think that's a great thing.

It doesn't matter if she's Republican or Democrat. It's great that she's half Indian.

I'm very proud of that, but I don't agree with her policies. I don't think that she has the experience.

I don't think the world will fear her. They don't fear her like Trump.

They respect him, and I think that's the difference. She doesn't have enough experience.

How confident are you about the Republican party's chances in the battleground states, especially considering the significant role that new and independent voters will play in the election?

It's very hard to say. I think it's going to be a toss up. I don't think we're going to know the results of the election this week.

I don't think it's going to happen on Wednesday, unless it becomes a landslide. It's going to be very close.

Arizona, I know it's gonna go red. Georgia, South Carolina, I'm hoping that North Carolina. Pennsylvania is going to be the real key.

Based on your insights and observations, what do you believe are the chances of Trump winning the election, and what factors could sway the outcome?

I think it's going to be voter turnout. The more people that go out and really vote as hell.

If people sit home, we're going to lose. So it's all going to be about coming out to vote. That's going to be the main thing.

How does your day look on Tuesday?

I'm going to make a lot of calls to make sure that everybody has gotten out. I'm going to remind people.

I'm going to send text messages, if you didn't vote, please vote. Please go. Please go. Please go. That's my first thing. And in the evening, I'm planning on going to a couple of the election headquarters so I could watch the results.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com