Rakhi Israni raises awareness to educate voters for her campaign / Mukesh Mistry

Fremont business owner, attorney and educator Rakhi Israni recently made a public appearance virtually for Plano residents on Saturday evening and at an in-person gathering at Indian Bistro 14 in Arlington, Texas, on March 8, amid many volunteers from various organizations involved with Hindu advocacy.

Israni announced her candidacy earlier in January for California’s 14th Congressional District. If she gets elected, she will be the first Indian American woman to serve in Congress from California and only the second Indian American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Speaking about the current political climate, Israni said, “We are living in trying times. This is a time of very vicious and divisive policies and a lot of it is directed at our community.” Israni focused on the Hindu community as a very hardworking and law-abiding community and said “it’s time for them to start getting involved in the political arena so we have a voice at the table.”

She continued to describe Dharma as a very important part of her life and said she initiated her launch campaign with the same idea. According to her, “it is not a religion or faith, it’s universal, it’s a science of action.” Israni told NIA that she looks at Dharma as a framework for her decisions, “creating harmony, sustaining quality of life for everyone in the district.”

Israni emphasized that the purpose of her campaign is to bring awareness and create education among voters so they focus on “problem-solving.” According to her, people need to listen and understand rather than just “coming with an agenda.” When asked what kind of problems she faced before entering her campaign, she pointed to short-term policy thinking. She said the government should not only solve the problems but prepare humanity for sustaining them.

Feeling proud of her motherhood on the occasion of International Women’s Day, she told NIA that her four teenagers are a big source of motivation for the launch of her campaign. “My kids have taught me more about life than anything else,” said Israni. She continued to say that her oldest initially discouraged her from entering as a political newcomer but later encouraged her to have a voice. Having no electoral experience is a challenge in itself.

Talking about her competitor, Israni said that “the problem is that we were excluded from the dialogues and our voice did not matter.” She asked everyone to “support her in waking people up” while backing her campaign.

According to Ballotpedia, the other candidates running opposite Israni are Carin Elam, Melissa Hernandez, Matt Ortega, Abrar Qadir and Wendy Huang.

Israni raised $1 million within 24 hours of launching her campaign. She said this was possible because “people are frustrated, people are excited at the same time that they have a representative that looks like them and understands them.”

Talking about the recent events in Texas, Israni said her outreach focuses on two goals. “First is education — creating awareness — and second is teaching politics to our race.” She said that until the community stands and says they are going to treat everyone fairly regardless of religion and background, they will be “easy targets.”

She sees her campaign and Texas tour as part of a broader political awakening and an investment in “our future and the future of coming generations.”

Talking about the current problems in politics, she said that “tariffs are being weaponized in a lot of ways and affordability and cost of living is a huge concern in the Bay Area; young adults cannot afford to live there,” and this is leading to a lot of other mental problems among kids and future generations.

She told NIA that she is an attorney by profession, grew up in Houston and moved to California in 2003 to start a company where she mentored kids, and this idea initiated from her services in SEWA International, a nonprofit organization. She believes that in this country people are struggling and she wants to reduce their hardships.

Many attendees applauded Israni for her campaign ideas and policies. Hemant Kale, founder of the Hindu/Human Empowerment and Renaissance Organization (HERO), addressed Israni as a “lion/tiger who do not wait for anybody’s support to take initiatives.” Quoting words from Hindu mythology, Kale said this community comprises highly educated individuals, but despite the recent happenings in Frisco and California, Israni is brave enough to stand and support the Hindu community and asked everyone to support her campaign.

The Arlington event was hosted by Sat Gupta and Khemchand Nangrani, both known for their volunteering services within the community.

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