In the US, two Indian-Americans, Kannan Srinivasan and J.J. Singh, were elected in special elections to Virginia’s state legislatures today. Srinivasan was elected to the State Senate, while Singh was elected to the seat in the State House of Delegates. In a turn of events, Singh took the seat in the House held by Srinivasan, who, in turn, succeeded Suhas Subramanyam after he resigned from the State Senate seat. The races featured another Indian American, Republican Ram Venkatachalam, who lost to Singh.
Srinivasan grew up in Tamil Nadu and was a chartered accountant in India before emigrating to the US. He will join another Indian American, the Hyderabad-born Ghazala Hashmi, in the State Senate. Srinivasan was elected to the Virginia House in 2023.
J.J. Singh, who was born in Virginia, will probably be the first legislator in the US to wear a turban, although other Sikhs have been elected. Singh worked in the White House Office of Management and Budget under former President Barack Obama. He had earlier served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia and as a senior US Senate advisor.