Ivanka Trump will celebrate Diwali at Hindu Temple

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Ivanka Trump, daughter of the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, will attend a Diwali celebration at a Virginia Hindu temple with other members of its local Indian-American community, campaign officials said this past weekend.

Trump will visit the Rajdhani Temple at Chantilly on Wednesday, it will mark the first time a family member of one of the two top presidential candidates is visiting a Hindu temple.

Last week, Donald Trump attended a charity event organized by Republican Hindu Council to raise funds for Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu victims of terrorism in Bangladesh. This was also the first time a presidential candidate attended an Indian-American event. It was attended by more than 5,000 people.

Ivanka’s visit will “go a long way in breaking the stereotype,” that the campaign “represents only angry white voters,” said Rajesh Gooty, an Indian-American community leader in Virginia.

“This is a big positive for the community,” he said.

Its ribbons cut in 2000, the Rajdhani Temple is the oldest temple in Loudon County of Virginia, which has experienced the fastest growth of Indian-Americans in the past decade.

Aside from the outreach capabilities, the move by the Trump campaign is being viewed as an attempt to woo the Indian-American community for its votes in next month’s general election.

The results of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections have shown that whoever wins Loudon County wins Virginia. The county in the past 16 years has seen significant growth of the Indian-American community, mainly on account of the emergence of an IT corridor near the Dulles Airport.

There were 1,200 Indian-Americans in 2000, which increased to 12,000 in 2010. The number is estimated to have jumped to 30,000 in 2016. The neighboring Fairfax County too has an estimated 20,000 Indian-American community members.

Indian-Americans have traditionally supported Democratic Party. But the Trump Campaign, which had withdrawn from the state several weeks ago, feel its latest move would help them penetrate the traditional vote bank of the Democratic party.