Jindal supporters form political action committee for prez bid

I / Washington June 16, 2009, 15:20 IST

Key supporters of charismatic Indian-American Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal have set up a political action committee to facilitate a possible 2012 presidential bid and aim to raise $60 million in funds.

"Jindal for President Draft Council Inc filed corporation papers last month with the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office," local newspaper The Advocate reported.

However, media reported that Jindal is not involved in the effort and his Press Secretary maintained that the Governor does not support it.

The 38-year-old Republican is seen as a major contender to challenge Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential elections. However, Jindal has repeatedly said that he does not wish to enter the race for the White House and would rather concentrate on Louisiana.

Among the names involved with the committee are Southern University physics professor Rama Mohanty, Dan Kyle, treasurer of Republican party in Louisiana and Ram Bhatia, who is the uncle of Jindal's wife Supriya.

The Times Picagune reported though Jindal is aware of the operations of the committee, but is not directly involved.

"The Governor does not support this effort. This is a distraction from the critical issues that we face and the governor will not be involved in any capacity," Jindal's Press Secretary Kyle Plotkin told The Advocate.Nearly 150 people have signed for the group, including Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Tim Barfield, representative Steve Scalise and former state representative Woody Jenkins.

Despite official rebuttal coming from Jindal's Press office, his supporters said they were sure that Jindal would run for presidency at some point of time.

"We're not necessarily saying 2012, but we want to be ready," Kyle told The Times Picagune. "But in 2016 we'll be ready. I know people feel he has a lot of unfinished business in Louisiana before he moves on. We would love to keep him here as long as possible, but if it turns out it's better for him to run in 2012, we'll support that," he said.

A political action committee in the US is a private group formed to support a candidate for any election and raise funds in support of his bid.