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Kanwal Rekhi celebrates Ro Khanna’s win with personal note
Rekhi, who is an entrepreneur, spotlighted Khanna's journey and reminisced about how the two met.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Fri, 12, Jun 2026
- 03:07 EDT
- 25
Kanwal Rekhi and Ro Khanna / Kanwal Rekhi via LinkedIn
Indian American Silicon Valley pioneer Kanwal Rekhi shared a deeply personal congratulatory message hailing Congressman Ro Khanna's recent congressional primary win, describing the veteran congressman as "one of the most important Indian American voices in public life."
Last week, Khanna retained his ticket to potentially continue his congressional run after a dominant performance in the California 17th Congressional District primary.
Khanna steered way ahead of all his primary rivals, securing close to 60 percent of the total votes in the Democratic stronghold, making him a favorite in the upcoming general election.
Rekhi, who is an entrepreneur, investor, mentor, thought leader and author, spotlighted Khanna's journey and reminisced about how the two met.
Rekhi said, "I first met him when he was 29, a young law graduate in Silicon Valley with so much talent and promise. In him, I saw myself from 50 years ago, and so many Indian immigrants I had met over the years."
He continued, "Ro wanted to serve the public at a time when very few Indian Americans were running for office, let alone winning. The path wasn't easy. He lost his first two races."
The entrepreneur noted that he then met a distraught Khanna who was ready to give up. He said, "After the second loss, he came to see me, ready to throw in the towel. I told him what I've always believed: 'You've only lost if you give up. If you still have it in you, I'll be the first to support you.'"
After this, Khanna ran for office once again, winning on his third attempt.
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Spotlighting Khanna's struggle and repeated failures, Rekhi highlighted his transformation into "one of the most important Indian American voices in public life."
Rekhi also noted that Khanna had penned the prologue to his autobiography, The Groundbreaker.
Highlighting the differences in their political beliefs, Rekhi said, "Ro and I don't agree on everything. I'm a classic libertarian, he's a progressive. But that doesn’t really matter. Our relationship is built on the same Indian American spirit of hard work, building bridges, and giving this country more than it gave us."
He concluded, "Congratulations, Ro. Your story is a reminder of what's still possible in America."
Kanwal Rekhi is a pioneering Indian American entrepreneur who became the first Indian-origin founder and CEO to take a venture-backed company public on the Nasdaq through networking firm Excelan in 1987.
He later co-founded the global entrepreneurship network TiE and venture capital firm Inventus Capital Partners, mentoring and investing in hundreds of startups.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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