2024-2025
September 22, 2025
Interview with They See Blue Co-founder Sunil Mehta
Seeta Durjan Begui of Viewpoint with Seeta & Friends, a radio show in Brevard County, FL, interviewed Sunil about the current state of affairs in the U.S. and the urgency for us to take action. The interview with Sunil starts at about the 38-minute mark.
June 5, 2024
What Will Motivate Indian American Women To Vote This November?
Shubhra Sinha, a member of They See Blue National Strategy Group and the DMV Chapter, told India Currents about even non-Democratic women voting for President Biden because of reproductive rights: “This I have heard from many Republican women, and South Asian conservative women who are against Biden’s immigration and economic policies, but will vote for him to keep abortion legal."
July 23, 2024
Biden was losing Asian American voters. Will they support Harris?
Swati Joshi, a member of They See Blue's National Strategy Team, was interviewed by NBC News about the impact of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on the Asian American electorate. “I think it’s a giant step for not only women, but also South Asians,” Joshi told the news outlet.
July 26, 2024
'Representation Matters': South Asians in Silicon Valley Rally Around Kamala Harris
They See Blue co-founder Sunil Mehta was interviewed by KQED about how Kamala Harris' presumptive nomination as the first Black woman and South Asian American to be president. “We are agnostic in terms of who the candidate is,” Mehta said. “We don’t blindly support South Asian candidates just because they are South Asian. Now, if they happen to be South Asian, that’s a bonus.”
July 30, 2024
Kamala Harris energizes South Asian voters, a growing force in key swing states
They See Blue New York president Tanbir Chowdhury was interviewed by The Associated Press about Kamala Harris energizing South Asian voters. "A lot of people are very excited. My photo album is strained by WhatsApp content right now, from like all corners (with) Kamala Harris stuff,” he said.
August 7, 2024
‘Kamala Harris, thank you for bringing back the joy,’ says Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz
They See Blue co-founder Rajiv Bhateja was interviewed by New Indian Abroad about Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. “He’s made a lot of progress in Minnesota. I really respect what he stands for, and what he's done,” said Bhateja, noting that Walz was also the least controversial of those on Harris’ shortlist.
August 7, 2024
South Asians rally behind Harris: ‘It’s like a tidal wave’
They See Blue volunteer Dibya Sarkar was quoted in The Hill newspaper about South Asian support for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. “I actually didn’t think that people would react to Kamala the way they have. I mean, especially men, white men,” he said. “So that’s actually really, really, really surprised me in a good way, and I’m really glad.”
August 9, 2024
Harris inspires civic engagement
They See Blue's Chintan Desai, who recently formed a new chapter in Nevada, had a Letter to the Editor published in the Las Vegas Sun, writing about the importance of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' rise to national political prominence as reflecting the best in American values of inclusion and diversity.
August 15, 2024
South Asian women see an ally in Harris, but feel a divide on Gaza
They See Blue's Swati Joshi, who's a member of the National Strategy Team, was interviewed by The 19th News about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' willingness to listen to concerns about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. She said former President Donald Trump is the main threat — both to Americans and to Palestinians. “I think if he got into power, Gaza is never going to get fixed. He’s going to have the Muslim ban. We won’t have any kind of freedom. Democracy will get wiped out.”
August 21, 2024
Opinion | Indian Americans Cheer Kamala Harris, But Can She Shift Their Votes?
They See Blue's Rajiv Bhateja and Akash Borde were interviewed regarding how the South Asians in the U.S. are galvanized to support Kamala Harris. "High school and college students are reaching out. It's way more than even Obama, Biden and Clinton years," says Bhateja. "Kamala's nomination after Biden decided not to rerun raised a lot more excitement among my peers," says Borde.
August 26, 2024
Indian Americans conflicted about Kamala Harris pose campaign challenge
They See Blue Pennsylvania chapter founder K.S. Bhaskar was interviewed about the importance of Indian-American voters and how that could spell support for Kamala Harris. “If you have a Desi calling a Desi, you’re going to get like a 15 to 20 percent pickup or callback rate,” he said, using a colloquial term used by South Asians to refer to South Asians. “If you have a random volunteer calling a random voter, you’re probably going to get a 3 to 5 percent pickup or callback rate.”
September 11, 2024
South Asians are mobilizing on both sides of the presidential election
Rajiv Bhateja, co-founder of They See Blue, was interviewed by Joy Sauce, a new entertainment platform aimed at an Asian-American audience. He said They See Blue is committed to voting Democratic. “We said, ‘You know, we should mobilize the South Asian community. Nobody's really doing that in a serious way,’” said Bhateja.
September 19, 2024
Opinion: Will we survive the age of information disorder?
Sunil Mehta, co-founder of They See Blue, penned an opinion piece about how "information disorder" pervades society and makes it difficult for people to distinguish fact from fiction. "There is a deliberate effort to 'dumb down' the population, and so far it looks like this effort is succeeding. It is ironic that the very technological advancements that have brought us so far are now being weaponized to spread misinformation, threatening the progress they helped to create," he writes.
October 14, 2024
In an election race this close, Asian American voters have become a force
North Carolina They See Blue's Mona Singh was interviewed by NPR about the potential impact of Indian-Americans on the 2024 election. She said that the number of South Asian canvassers have increased four-fold since Kamala Harris announced her candidacy.
October 27, 2024
Indian American voters are shaping the U.S. presidential race
North Carolina They See Blue's Mona Singh was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle about the potential impact of Indian-Americans on the 2024 election. “My biggest problem today is the number of people who call me, message me, text me about wanting to volunteer,” she said.
2021-2023
Dec. 18, 2023
‘Immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country,’ says Trump
Rajiv Bhateja, co-founder of They See Blue, told New India Abroad, “With their blood, sweat and tears, several generations of immigrants built the United States into the great nation it is today. It is hard to imagine what this country would look like without immigration. Today, immigrants can be seen at the highest levels of academia, science, industry, business, high-tech and government. Their entrepreneurship has help transform society and boosted the economy enormously."
December 13, 2023
2024 Elections: How Will Desis Vote?
Rajiv Bhateja, a Silicon Valley engineer and founding member of They See Blue agrees with Browne-Marshall. “If we care about our next generation, if we care about our planet, if we care about education and if we care about people’s lives, we vote Democrat,” he said.
December 12, 2022
Did Indian Americans mobilize the margin of victory in the Georgia Senate runoff?
They See Blue co-founder Rajiv Bhateja said his organization sent out 16,000 hand-written post cards to Georgia voters, targeting Independents as well. The post cards were made in several South Asian languages. They See Blue also phone-banked, canvassed door to door and put out radio ads. "We believe that the relational component -- someone from your own community -- is very important for results," he said.
November 8, 2022
'Namaste Aunty': US Congress at Stake, Desi Americans Key to Tight Midterm Races
Rajiv Bhateja, a Silicon Valley engineer and founding member of They See Blue agrees with Browne-Marshall. “If we care about our next generation, if we care about our planet, if we care about education and if we care about people’s lives, we vote Democrat,” he said.
January 20, 2021
South Asians In Colorado React To Kamala Harris' Swearing-In As Vice President
"As I was watching her getting sworn in today, it was a very surreal experience," said Indira Duggirala, a community organizer and member of the grassroots organization They See Blue. "It's a huge a deal for our community in terms of representation, we're not just the IT guys, we're not just the doctors, we can actually lead, women can lead, women can solve problems."
January 7, 2021
Georgia Desis Ecstatic About Runoff Results and ‘They See Blue’ Activists Proud of Their Efforts
Ani Joshi, an IT professional from the Johns Creek area in Georgia, who campaigned vigorously as part of the grassroots group – They See Blue, Georgia – is thrilled by the double victory. “We need sanity in our lives and peace for all Americans,” he told American Kahani. “We cannot afford to have leaders at the state and federal levels who live in an alternate world of conspiracies, undermining our constitutional norms, stoking division and only caring for one side of the aisle.”
2020
January 5, 2021
Georgia's Asian American Voters Are Among Record Demographic Turnout
ANJALI ENJETI: In Georgia, we have shown how important it is for campaigns to have very specific and particular outreach to various racial and ethnic groups. I mean, I've been passing out campaign lit this afternoon for Asian American voters that have multiple Asian languages on them. People feel like they are very seen by politicians. And these are communities that don't usually feel that way.
December 18, 2020
Democratic organizers set their sights on Asian American voters to win control of the Senate
Anjali Enjeti, who co-leads the Georgia chapter of the mobilization group They See Blue, said in the wake of the November elections, both Democratic Senate campaigns are targeting Asian American voters, holding events and expanding their presence on ethnic media channels. But organizers on the ground have been building their own machinery since 2017. The key to wooing Asian-American voters, they say: a candidate they respect with a coherent plan for the pandemic.
December 14, 2020
How South Asian Grassroots Groups are Mobilizing Voters in Georgia Runoff Elections
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Asian Americans nationally has doubled between 2000 and 2020. “The Asian American vote is really important in a close election. In the general election, in some states, the increase in the Asian American vote exceeded Biden’s margin of victory,” says California-based Rajiv Bhateja, one of the founders of They See Blue, a grassroots mobilization group.
November 18, 2020
Energized By Kamala Harris’ Win, South Asian Coloradans Hope To Increase Representation In State And Local Politics, Too
This election season, the older generation got more involved in voter outreach than ever before, urged on by groups like They See Blue. It’s a national organization that encourages South Asian Americans to help elect Democrats. Before the election, the organization found that only 37 percent of South Asian Democrats were voting in Colorado. So they amassed a volunteer army of aunties and uncles — along with their kids — to call Coloradans and write letters, particularly to young or inactive voters. Some volunteers even chatted with voters in native Indian languages.
November 2, 2020
Health, economy priorities for Indian American voters, but foreign policy making a subtle difference: Experts
Many domestic issues, including national security, human rights, race relations, using science to fight Covid-19 and climate change, deficit spending, the environment, healthcare, the economy, unemployment, education and trade wars have influenced voters from the community, said Rajat Srivastava, one of the founders of the South Asian American political grass-roots group, They See Blue (to pun with Desi Blue), which is focussed on mobilizing South Asians to elect Democratic candidates in swing states.
October 31, 2020
The importance of being Indian in America
[K.S.] Bhaskar Bhaksar ran and won an election at the municipal level. They volunteer with They See Blue (a play on Desi Blue) a group of Democrats that works informally (and therefore not bound by campaign financing laws that apply to nonprofits) to get out the vote.
October 31, 2020
Sholay to Sima aunty, US poll campaign gets desi touch
They See Blue (a play on the word desi) founder Sunil Mehta, a pro Biden-Harris voluntary group, points out that the reaction to a desi voice or a face is totally different. "We realised while campaigning for the 2018 mid-terms that when a Punjabi in the US heard Sat Sri Akal (a form of greeting used by Punjabi Sikhs), there would be an immediate level of comfort."
October 29, 2020
How Desi Americans Are Using Their Own ‘Bhasha’ To Woo Voters
Lakshmi Bhaduri proudly displayed a large Biden-Harris sign in her front yard in Wisconsin. By morning, it was gone! She lives in a strong Republican, moneyed, and predominantly Caucasian suburb, where Democratic supporters are rare. Not to risk losing another one, Lakshmi brings in the yard sign every night. In spite of being in a minority in Wisconsin – Democrat and Indian American – Lakshmi created the Wisconsin chapter of ‘TheySeeBlue’, a non-profit that aims to increase voter turnout among Democratic South Asian Americans.
October 2, 2020
South Asian Voters Are the Target of They See Blue, a Grassroots Organization
The 2016 election spurred many Americans to go beyond simply voting, including Sunil Mehta, an Indian immigrant who has worked in Silicon Valley for more than 30 years. In 2018, Mehta co-founded They See Blue (TSB), a grassroots organization focused on mobilizing South Asian voters to flip congressional seats from Republican to Democratic control. The group’s name is a clever play on the word “Desi” (pronounced “THEY-see”), a term used to describe the South Asian community and diaspora.
September 17, 2020
20 FOR ’20: ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL. YOUR ACTION CAN BE TOO
Engaging the South Asian vote will be key to Democratic gains across Texas, and They See Blue is dedicated to empowering South Asian voters to help flip winnable seats across the country. They have a handful of Texas chapters that could use our help. Several Congressional and State House races could swing blue if the South Asian vote turns out in force.
September 6, 2020
Grieder: Asian-American voters in Texas could play pivotal role in 2020
So the young Texans who volunteer with the state chapter of They See Blue, a progressive national organization focused on voters of South Asian descent, are focusing on new tactics as they pursue a mission of registering, persuading and mobilizing such voters.
September 3, 2020
'A political awakening': how south Asians could tilt key US elections
Sunil Mehta, co-founder of They See Blue, a nationwide grassroots campaign focused on mobilizing south Asian Americans to elect Democratic candidates, also observes a cultural divide. “Many south Asians have not yet detached themselves from south Asian politics,” he said.
August 31, 2020
What’s Wrong with Indian American Republicans Who Betray Their Indian Values and Heritage
Ahimsa, Non-violence. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that word? For most people, it is Mahatma Gandhi. Whether you were born in India or America, the circumstances of Indian independence are a part of your consciousness, your history. We walk with our heads held high, without cowering to the saheb, because we are the heirs to the Gandhian principles and its victories.
August 14, 2020
How Indian Americans are reacting to Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's VP pick
Sonya Mehta, who directs the youth council of Desi Blue, a group formed in 2018 to organize South Asians to elect Democratic candidates, is enthusiastic about Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s vice presidential nominee. “She is a really powerful example of the diverse tapestry of this country, which is, I think, in sharp contrast to Donald Trump's anti-immigrant, racist rhetoric and bigotry,” said Mehta, who is based in Oakland, California.
August 12, 2020
Kamala Devi Harris Makes History
Others believe Harris already represents her identity fully. Rajiv Bhateja, co-founder of They See Blue, a Silicon Valley-based South Asian political group focused on electing Democrats, explained, “She was closer to her mother growing up and her mother instilled a lot of South Asian values and heritage...starting with her name. I mean, her full name is Kamala Devi Harris, right?”
March 11, 2020
They See Blue Georgia – the much-needed voice for South Asian Democrats
They See Blue Georgia (TSB – GA) a newly formed grassroots organization launched its 2020 Election Kickoff event recently at the NW Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Sandy Springs. Having an interesting twist in its name – “They See” a homophone for the word Desi, They See Blue – GA was started to mobilize Democratic voters in Georgia. They See Blue Georgia was founded in the summer of 2019.
February 29, 2020
They See Blue Georgia’s 2020 Election Kickoff
On Saturday, February 8, 2020, the Georgia chapter of They See Blue, a national organization for South Asian Democrats working to flip seats blue, held their 2020 Election Kickoff at the Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Atlanta. The event celebrated the birth of one of the first groups for South Asian Democrats in the Southeast. Despite the morning snowfall, some 150 attendees filled the sanctuary and spilled into the lobby.
February 26, 2020
South Asian Democrats celebrate the birth of They See Blue Georgia
Over 150 Atlanta-area South Asians gathered at the Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation on Saturday, February 8, 2020, for the 2020 Election Kickoff hosted by the Georgia chapter of They See Blue. They See Blue is a national organization for South Asian Democrats working to flip seats blue.
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