• For them, Clinton is a strong, tested and resilient leader, and a friend of Nepal

Kathmandu, August 13 Hundreds of Nepalis living in the United States are actively involved in the political campaign for the Democratic Party nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid to get to the White House. Some 300 Nepali migrants, who are either working or studying in USA, are actively taken part in her campaign in more than 20 American states, including Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and some western states like California. According to Ronix Bhandari, Nepali as well as Bhutanese Americans recently organised a nationwide conference and also formed a national grassroots volunteer organisation comprising community leaders and advocates to support Clinton under the banner ‘Nepali for Hillary’. A Hillary campaigner and a former Maryland General Assembly candidate, Harry Bhandari told The Himalayan Times over phone that Nepalis, like other immigrants in USA, trust the former secretary of state and her agenda as she seems sympathetic towards migrants. As Clinton plans to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform policy within her first 100 days in the White House, she is counting on support from Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a potentially powerful slice of the electorate, to be elected as the next US president.“The Nepali for Hillary is our commitment to ensuring Hillary’s victory as our next president,” Bhandari said. “Eventually, the campaign aims to empower Nepali diaspora in each state of hte country.” Originally form Parbat district of Nepal Bhandari went to USA in October 2005 and acquired US citizenship later on. For them, Clinton is a strong, tested, resilient leader, and a friend of Nepal who, as the first lady visited Nepal, as a part of her 12-day South Asia tour, in 1995. A US-based Nepali researcher, Naresh Rijal told The Himalayan Times that the support of Nepali diaspora in USA by and large would always be for the presidential nominees from the Democratic Party because of their seemingly ‘pro-migrant’ policy. “The support of immigrant population to Clinton has significantly increased after last month’s party convention, which had formally nominated her from the Democratic Party,” he said. It’s estimated that around 300,000 Nepalis are currently living in USA, and most of them have acquired US citizenship or are in the process of getting a legal status. Besides, almost 90,000 Nepali speaking Bhutanese refugees resettled in different states of USA have also joined hands with the Nepali disapora to support Hillary Clinton, according to Bhandari.