By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — Two years ago, Theresa Thanjan and Reshma Saujani were on opposite sides of the Democratic presidential primary battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Now, Thanjan, who worked on Obama's campaign, is working alongside Saujani to help her campaign's get-out-the-vote efforts in the South Asian community she is counting on to win the congressional primary against Carolyn Maloney in September.
More than half of the Indian Americans who live in the city — more than 100,000 — reside in the 14th congressional district Saujani hopes to take, which runs from the southern part of East Harlem to the East Village including Astoria, Queens. There are a total of 249,463 registered Democrats in the district, according to Saujani's campaign.
South Asians made up the fastest growing Asian ethnic group in New York City, the Asian American Federation said in its 2009 Census Information Center report.
"I think that in the South Asian community what we're used to is giving money and essentially that's the extent of political participation," said Thanjan, who also serves as chair of the New York chapter of South Asians for Opportunity.
"The challenge will be to get beyond that," she said.
Registering South Asians eligible to vote in the district has beome a main focus of the campaign, said James Allen, spokesman for Saujani.
"We have an aggressive operation in every neighborhood and we're going to be fighting for every vote," Allen said.
From the beginning of her campaign, Saujani has appealed to fellow South Asians with backgrounds in finance and tech firms.
Early supporters included S.P. Wijegoonaratna, managing director of Fortress Investment Group and President of the Sri Lanka Care Foundation, and Harjiv Singh, co-founder and CEO of International Gutenberg Communications.
The focus on mobilizing Saujani's base comes after weeks of campaigning across the district, sometimes in communities happy with Maloney's representation.
Speaking at a March 23 meeting of the Downtown Independent Democrats, Saujani frankly stated that she did not expect the club's endorsement after engaging in a terse exchange with a club member over charter schools.
Maloney's role in passing health care reform and the Lilly Ledbetter equal-pay law have confirmed her role as a traditional Democratic stalwart.
Asked at the meeting how her representation of the district would differ from Maloney's, Saujani pointed to her background as the daughter of Ugandan Indians forced to flee Idi Amin's rule.
"We need more people from different cultures and socioeconomic status in office," she said.
At a South Asians for Reshma fundraiser on Monday, Saujani's years as a pro bono lawyer on immigration cases and background in political activism resonated with supporters.
"Indian-Americans are so successful and so underrepresented," said Paramendra Bhagat, who learned of Saujani's run on a techie blog.
"I'm honored that someone with her credentials will be representing me."
