(This Article First Appeared In The Indian Express On Sept 5, 2023)
As the American summer ends and the race for the US presidency begins, the rise of Vivek Ramaswamy has been the first major surprise. At the first debate among the Republican hopefuls last week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the young Indian American was declared the winner. American presidential campaigns are expensive and gruelling. It is not easy for a rank outsider like Ramaswamy to mobilise resources – the presidential nomination will be finalised only next summer, and the elections are scheduled for the first week of November 2024. It is even harder to survive the political and personal scrutiny that candidates must endure…