First Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris announces her 2020 US presidential bid
Washington, Jan 21: Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator, Monday officially launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on President Donald Trump, saying she was "honoured" to announce her bid on a day when Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi.
A rising party star and vocal critic of President Trump, Harris, 54, is the fourth Democrat to join the battle for the party's nomination in the 2020 election.
"I am running for president," Harris said in a tweet along with a simultaneously released video message.
"Kamala Harris: For the People" is the theme of her campaign.
If elected, she would be the first woman and woman of colour to be the president of the United States.
"I love my country. This is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are," she told the ABC News.
Explaining the significance of announcing her presidential bid on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Harris said the icon of American civil rights movement, who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, has always inspired her.
"The thing about Dr King that always inspires me is that he was aspirational. He was aspirational like our country is aspirational. We know that we've not yet reached those ideals. But our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals," she said.
"So today, the day we celebrate Dr King, is a very special day for all of us as Americans and I'm honoured to be able to make my announcement on the day we commemorate him," said the Indian-origin Senator whose mother was born in Tamil Nadu and African-American father from Jamaica.
Both came to the US to study and then settled here. Their parents divorced later. Her sister Maya Harris was part of the Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.
"The American public wants a fighter, and they want someone that's going to fight like heck for them and not fight based on self-interest, and I'm prepared to do that," Harris said.
"Truth, justice, decency, equality, freedom, democracy. These aren't just words. These are values we as Americans cherish and they are all on the line now," she said.
Harris was elected as the US Senator from California only two years ago, during which she had made a national presence for her taking a tough stand against President Trump and his policies.
"The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values. That's why I am running for president of the United States," Harris said in a passionate appeal in her video message.
"I am running to bring our voices together," Harris said urging her supporters to join her at a rally in Oakland on January 27.
"Let's do this together. Let's claim our future, for ourselves, for our children and for our country," she said.
The first Indian-origin former Attorney General of California has selected Baltimore, near Washington DC, in the East Coast as her 2020 campaign headquarters. Her second office would be based in Oakland, her birthplace.
Harris, who is the first Indian-origin US Senator and first black Senator from California, is the fourth Democratic woman leader to enter the presidential race.
The others being Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro has also announced to enter the 2020 race.
It is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary race, the winner of which would grab the party's nomination and challenge President Donald Trump in the November 2020 presidential race. The Democratic primary begins early next year.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
