The national Republican Indian Committee recently established its New Jersey chapter. In an Aug. 30 press release organizers called it a "landmark" development as New Jersey has one of the highest numbers of Indians in the country.
"Republicans in New Jersey have not courted Indian Americans much. Now is the time to revive the Indian Republicans," Mukesh Roy, executive director of the New Jersey chapter told Desi Talk. "Indians have more in common with Republican ideology," he contended.
Dr. Kuchipudi Bapineedu, a longtime fundraiser and community activist, has been appointed chairman of the organization. Bapineedu is the founding trustee and vice chairman of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Society of U.S.A.
He is the secretary of the board of trustees of the Hindu Temple in Bridgewater and chairman of the Indian-American Festival, an annual event organized by the cultural society.
Arthur Kapoor, a longtime health-care industry consultant and seasoned entrepreneur, was named president of the chapter, the release said.
He has more than 22 years of experience in software development and is currently an adviser to various health-care organizations. Additionally, he is involved with several charitable organizations and serves on various boards, including the New Jersey State Theatre, New Jersey Institute of Technology College of Computing, Durga Mandir and Somerset Medical Foundation. A Rutgers University graduate, he has been a registered Republican since 1987.
Dr. Mukesh Roy was appointed executive director of the chapter. He is the director of public health preparedness, planning and education at the Ocean County Health Department. Previously, he worked as the senior emergency preparedness consultant for the Yale-New Haven Center in Connecticut. Roy also serves as chief of preventive medicine for the 105th Medical Group, New York Air National Guard and has served in the U.S. Air Force in several capacities.
The Republican Indian Committee also announced it appointed Sylvester Fernandez, a political activist and former co-chair of the N.J. State Republican Committee, as vice president of the state chapter. Fernandez ran for the U.S. House against Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) in 2004. He has served as commissioner on the Prosperity New Jersey Commission, as director for ethnic affairs (tristate) for Jack Kemp during his presidential bid in 1988 and serves on several nonprofit boards.
Other appointees were:
Shivani Nath, vice president-legislative affairs. Nath has worked clinically and administratively in psychoanalysis since 1996 in a variety of settings, including from 2001-05 with the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Nutan Kalamdani, vice president-governmental affairs. Kalamdani ran for town council in Woodbridge in 2009 and is part of the Woodbridge Township Republican Organization.
Bhrugesh Patel, vice president-political affairs. An entrepreneur, Patel is managing director of Lexon Loyde Inc., which focuses on providing network solutions to hedge fund and reinsurance companies. He is also a managing member of Hillsborough Properties.
