Dino Teppara, member of the Board of the Indian American Republican Council

When Sylvester Fernandez, a lesser known Republican activist decided to run against New Jersey Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone, he knew he was taking on an unequal race. But Republican and Democratic activists believe anyone, even a novice, can join and, in fact, have a right to join the political game or rat race as they see it.

Dino Teppara, member of the Board of the Indian American Republican Council, however, felt that it was a futile gesture to run in a heavily Democratic district. “No matter how qualified a person is, if they are Republican running in a mainly Democratic district or a Democrat running in a mainly Republican district, he or she is probably going to lose,” Teppara told News India-Times. “My message to Indian Americans is –– 99 percent of incumbents are getting re-el-ected, so your chances are realistically quite slim if you are of the opposite party in that district. It doesn’t matter if you are Indian American or not, or if you are a physician or an attorney.”

Ramesh Kapur, chair of the Indo-American Leadership Council of Democratic National Committee

“People may feel they want to run because they are passionate about public service, and sometimes for name identification so that they can run in the future,” he said. “But a few things have to be kept in mind –– 1. For the House, 99 percent of incumbents get reelected; you need to belong to the dominant political party in the district especially if you haven’t been in any lower office. Also, 75 percent of House members were elected from some lower public office; and 2. For the Senate, 50 percent of those in the Senate were elected from the House. So people need to see an established public service record.”

Ramesh Kapur, chair of the Indo-American Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee, refused to comment on a particular candidate but emphasized, “Everybody has the right to run.”

Gautam Dutta, Democratic activist who is campaigning for Sen. John Kerry in Pennsylvania

Gautam Dutta, a Democratic activist who is on the ground campaigning for Sen. John Kerry’s presidential run in the swing state of Pennsylvania, told News India-Times: “I think in general, it is good for as many people in the South Asian community to run. It’s really good that we get involved no matter what our views or our party.”

However, he noted, “Obviously, Congressman Pallone has a great record when it comes to working with the South Asian community and people would look at him favorably. I don’t know enough about Fernandez’ record but I think voters will look at deeds which speak more than words and voters will make their judgment.”