New Delhi: Pramila Jayapal, the US Congresswoman whose criticism of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls drew a public rebuke from New Delhi’s ambassador last month, has been re-elected to a sixth term in the US House of Representatives.
The Chennai-born Democrat, who won against Gujarat-born Republican Nirav Sheth, will return to Capitol Hill with her platform intact. That means one of Washington’s most vocal Indian-origin critics of the SIR process will keep her seat.
Jayapal’s views on India
In October, Jayapal expressed concern over the reported deletion of 130 million names from India’s draft electoral rolls under the SIR process, comparing it with efforts she said had undermined voting rights in the US.
“Protecting democracies everywhere is essential work, and the Indian people — like the American people — deserve free and fair elections,” she wrote on X.
India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, called her remarks “unacceptable interference” in India’s internal affairs and invited her for a constructive conversation to “dispel misconceptions”.
Who is Pramila Jayapal?
Born in Chennai, Jayapal spent her childhood moving between India, Indonesia and Singapore before moving to the US alone at the age of 16.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She initially worked as a financial analyst before moving into global health and development, including a stint at PATH.
Following the 9/11 attacks, she founded Hate Free Zone, which later became OneAmerica, Washington state’s largest immigrant advocacy organisation. She served as its executive director for more than a decade.
Jayapal has served as chair and later chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She sits on the House Judiciary, Budget and Foreign Affairs committees and is the ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration.
Jayapal is known for her advocacy on immigrant rights, expanding healthcare access, including Medicare for All, workers’ rights and labour organising, economic equality, LGBTQ+ rights and climate policy.
She is also the author of Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change.
The contest
Washington state’s 7th Congressional District, which covers most of Seattle and nearby communities such as Shoreline, Vashon Island and parts of Burien, saw two candidates of Indian origin from opposing sides of the political spectrum contest the same House seat.
Jayapal, a progressive Democrat and the first South Asian American woman elected to the US House, defeated Sheth in the solidly Democratic Seattle-area district.
Sheth, a former US Marine and small-business owner, leaned into the Indian-American contrast during the campaign, describing the contest as a “David versus Goliath” fight. Acknowledging that he was unlikely to win, he said his primary aim was to “spread the message”.
He declined to describe Jayapal as anti-India but called her “anti-American”. Sheth also backed the Trump administration’s suspension of Microsoft’s green-card sponsorships, a contentious position in a district with a sizeable Indian-origin technology workforce. He criticised Washington state’s climate policies, arguing that they had pushed up fuel costs.
Celebrating her victory, Jayapal wrote on Instagram: “Tonight’s win wouldn’t be possible without every organizer, volunteer, and voter who made it possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)
Ms. Pramila Jayapal has been the most prominent anti-India activist in the USA. She has lent her voice to every single attempt at maligning India. Be it the Khalistanis or the Islamists or even the woke Left – she is everyone’s darling in their attempt to denigrate India and dehumanise Hindus.
The Union govt should cancel her PIO/OCI status and officially declare her as persona-non-grata – ban her entry into India permanently.