Aspiring to Lead
Manga Anantatmula is an Indian-American woman, born in the state of Andhra Pradesh, in India. She contested for the US House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, from a district in Virginia (Virginia’s 11th Congressional District). She was a Republican candidate.
Here it deserves a mention that once every two years, the members of the House of Representatives in the US go for re-election along with one-third of the members in the upper house, which is known as the Senate.
About Manga Anantatmula
Manga did her schooling in Chennai, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and did her graduation from Agra University, which is now renamed as Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University. Agra is a historic city in India, famed for Taj Mahal. About three decades ago, she immigrated to the US, along with her husband and son.
“Leaving behind an affluent life in India, my little boy and I accompanied my husband to the US in early 1990s in pursuit of his graduate and doctoral degrees, an American dream. We chose Northern Virginia as our new home for its school system and standard of living, and lived in Fairfax County,” Manga had said while filing her papers for the election.
Any biography of Manga Anantatmula must include that she raised her concern against alleged discrimination in the admission of Asians in IV League schools. We are not sure what is the profession of Manga Anantatmula today but the news on Manga Anantatmula informs that she worked as a federal government contractor in defense acquisitions program management.
One of the important news on Manga Anantatmula is that she became the first Indian origin candidate to run for the House of Representatives from the 11th Congressional District of Virginia, which is being regarded as a bastion for the Democrats.
Here it also deserves a mention that earlier Manga was in the Democrats but switched over to join the Republicans in 2016 after the US Presidential elections that year.
The Voice of Development
She announced from her website of running her campaign with focus on reducing taxes, equal rights for women, facilitating the growth of small and medium enterprises and affordable healthcare. She also asserted that if elected to the House of Representatives she would work hard to strengthen India-US relationship. The businesswoman turned politician also promised to lower national debt if elected to the office.
She proclaimed from her website that she “wants to be a voice, not a noise” for the community, particularly the Hindu Americans.
However, despite projecting such strong causes she lost to the six-term incumbent Gerald Edward Connolly in the general election for the US House Virginia District 11 on 3rd November 2020. She got only 28.3 percent votes as against Gerald Edward Connolly’s 71.4 percent.
This is despite the fact that in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, Asian population comprises 17 percent, and an estimated 7 percent of the population of the district is accounted by Indian-Americans.
Her Stance on Indian Poiltics
As far as her stance on India goes, Manga supported the present NDA government’s decision to do away with Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.She also criticized the US President Joe Biden’s views on the sensitive issue.
In December 2019, she also voiced her support for the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, which created lots of heated arguments in civil society and also mob violence in India.
FAQs
No, she is an Indian-American woman born in Andhra Pradesh, India. She is a legal immigrant to the US.
There is no authentic information on the age of Manga Anantatmula.
She studied in Chennai and also in the Agra University, in India.
She was born in Andhra Pradesh, a state located in the southern region of India.
She achieved fame when she contested for the US House of Representatives from Virginia’s 11th Congressional District as a Republican candidate and thereby became the first Indian origin candidate to run for the House of Representatives from the 11th Congressional District of Virginia.
However, she first attracted limelight for she showing strong stance against alleged discrimination in the admission of Asians in IV League schools. She is also known for her strong right-wing views.
