PTI

Washington: An overwhelming 81% Indian-Americans will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama while merely 19% will support the Republican nominee Senator John McCain, an opinion poll suggests.

During an informal opinion poll of Indian-Americans US citizens, carried out by a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Washington - Bridging Nations, 81% of respondents said they would vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, while only 19% said they would vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Of the 40% of the respondents who were registered as Independents, 67% said they would vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden while others were planning to vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin, showing that the vast majority of crucial independent voters support the Illinois Senator.

The overwhelming support for Senator Obama amongst Indian Americans was corroborated by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS), published on 6 October 6, showed that 62% of Indian-American respondents chose to vote for Obama and Biden, while only 12% were for McCain and 25% were undecided.

The Indian-American community has grown from 1.6 million people in 2000 to over 2.3 million in 2005, according to the US Census Bureau - a growth rate of 38%, one of the highest amongst US Ethnic Populations.

The prospect of an Indian-American figuring in the Presidential elections appeared briefly when Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s name surfaced as a possible running mate to Senator McCain.