With his approval rating at 48%, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal’s name is doing the rounds as a candidate for President for 2016.
The Governor of Louisiana, Jindal is perhaps the most prominent Indian-American today. Elected in 2007, Jindal is the first Indian-American to hold the post of Governor in any state. Before joining politics, Jindal attended Brown University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in biology and public policy. He went to receive the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and study for an M Litt in public policy from New College, Oxford.
Jindal was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to immigrants from Punjab; Amar and Raj Jindal, who moved to America six months before the birth of their son. Jindal’s parents were both lecturers at an engineering college in India prior to immigrating. He married Supriya Jolly, another Indian-American who was born in Delhi and attended the same high school as Jindal. The couple have three children, Selia Elizabeth, Shaan Robert, and Slade Ryan.
Jindal had his first experience of politics at University when he interned for Congressman Jim McCrery in 1991. After finishing his studies at Oxford, Jindal joined consulting firm McKinsey and Company before entering public service. In 1996, Jindal was appointed Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. The department was in dire financial condition when Jindal took over, with the state’s Medicaid programme running a $400 million deficit. Within three years of Jindal’s appointment, its fortunes were turned around and the department recorded a cumulative surplus of $220 million during his tenure.
Under Jindal’s term, Louisiana nationally rose to third place in child healthcare screenings, with child immunizations rising. The state introduced new and expanded services for the elderly and the disabled as well. As a result of his work he was awarded the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under.
With an approval rating of 48% in his home state, Jindal’s name has been doing the rounds as a possible contender for the Republican Party in the 2016 presidential elections and has widespread support from the conservative and moderate factions of the party.
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