Bhavini Patel courts out-of-state donors with Hindu nationalist ties and pro-Israel agendas
Congressional candidate Bhavini Patel got a signal boost for her fundraising efforts during a video call Monday she hosted alongside California physician Mihir Meghani, a longtime supporter of Hindu American causes.
The two appeared together during a virtual event notable for the number of callers who mentioned residing outside Pittsburgh; attendees' vociferous praise of Israel; their interest in defeating progressive Democrats and "Squad" members, including Patel's opponent, incumbent U.S. Rep. Summer Lee; and Hindu nationalist rhetoric.
Though Patel told Pittsburgh City Paper in an emailed response to questions that "Lee is raising most of her money from outside of Pennsylvania[,] and I have raised two-thirds of our funds in the state," the call reflects Patel's willingness to seek donors beyond Pa. in a race that has drawn national attention.
City Paper received a screenshot of the Patel campaign event flyer from a tipster (who asked to remain anonymous) and used a shortlink on it to attend the fundraising video call via Zoom under the writer's real name. Hosted by Patel and Meghani, the call lasted less than an hour and featured several messages of support from donors, three of whom indicated primary residence in New York.
Meghani is a co-founder and board member of the Hindu American Foundation, a 501(c)3 advocacy organization. He's a prolific political donor who has contributed thousands of dollars to pro-Israel lobbying groups including To Protect Our Heritage PAC and gave the maximum allowable $3,300 to failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has since endorsed former president Donald Trump in his bid for a second non-consecutive term. Meghani also has ties to Indian nationalist groups including supporters of controversial Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has actively promoted pro-Israel and Hindu nationalist causes on his personal Twitter profile.
For the unfamiliar, Modi's time at the helm of the world's most populous country has brought economic prosperity, but his administration has set some of the country's religious and ethnic minority communities, in particular the country's Muslims, on edge for its anti-secular, Hindu-centric approach. Indian politicians in the opposition have sounded alarms that Modi is an autocrat in the making, though Modi has cozied up with both Biden and Trump.
Meghani is notable for his bipartisan support of candidates of Indian heritage including U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, with whom Meghani appears to share a love of Detroit and Michigan sports. Meghani also made multiple donations to controversial former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard. One major factor connecting Thanedar, Gabbard, Patel, and others to whom Meghani has donated is their support for Israel and opposition to "Squad" candidates. (Meghani notably donated $2,800 to former Democratic Rep. Brenda Jones, who twice lost to current U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib.)
Patel used her time on the call to put daylight between herself and Lee, accusing her opponent of not "understand[ing] the day-to-day challenges of the diverse population of this region." Patel also noted Lee's boycott of Modi's appearance in the U.S. last summer and accused Lee's policy decisions of helping arm Iran, a topic that likewise came up during a fractious debate with Lee and her primary opponents on Feb. 28.
"[Lee] was also one of very few that voted no on sanctioning countries that provide weapons to Iran," Patel said on the call. "Those weapons end up in the hands of terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah and destabilize entire regions, which has direct implications for India. It has implications for Israel, and it directly impacts our own national security here in the United States."
Callers who spoke were unanimous in their support of Israel and its current war efforts in the Gaza Strip. Patel and others made multiple references to the Tree of Life synagogue massacre and Squirrel Hill's robust Jewish community.
"I think that we are, in the Pittsburgh Jewish community, doing our best to really elevate [Patel] and make [Lee's stance on Israel] a national issue," said one Patel backer.
In response to a question about Pa.'s closed primary system, Patel said, "I also want to mention that we are making really strong efforts — within the Jewish community, within the Hindu community — to encourage folks who are registered as independents and Republicans to re-register as Democrats."
One caller questioned how he could support both candidates like Patel and Pres. Joe Biden "when you see openly [Biden is] not with you." Patel was quick to underscore that she was a Democrat and would be more likely to vote with the President than with Lee.
"My values have been discussed since day one in this campaign: overcoming adversity, hard work, seeking the American dream and investing in family and community," Patel told CP. She described her campaign as "grassroots."
Meghani urged donors to contribute to Patel's campaign as soon as they could. "Timing is important, as money raised this month gets reported in the 1st quarter of 2024 reporting cycle, which, if it is high as we expect, will encourage more money to her campaign to help unseat incumbent Congresswoman Summer Lee," he wrote in the Zoom chat.
The Patel campaign indicated in their statement to CP that "the Indian American community has stepped up because they believe we have too few Indian-American women of color in Congress." Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D.-Wash.) is currently the first and only person to hold that distinction.
Where Patel and Meghani differ on policy is unclear. Meghani and moderate Democrat Rishi Kumar — whom Meghani has supported and who was profiled alongside Patel as a candidate representing Hindu values — both opposed a bill banning caste discrimination that Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom eventually vetoed. Meghani's nonprofit "rejects" claims that caste discrimination is inherent to Hindu culture.
(Update: Subsequent reporting by investigative outlet The Intercept has confirmed the presence of multiple members of a known Hindu nationalist group on the call.)
"If we don't get Bhavani elected, we're going to have 10 to 20 years, maybe 30 years of someone like Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib," Meghani said, urging potential donors on the call to "max out" their giving. "Here, we have a chance to jointly, with our friends in the Jewish community, finally show up and notch a victory together."
Meet Bhavini Patel, congressional candidate for Pennsylvania’s 12th district
“Public service is about being present in the community and serving the community.”
Bhavini Patel believes her story is emblematic of the American dream.
Patel’s mother immigrated to America from India in the late ’80s and started a small catering company that grew into a food truck business. Patel grew up in Monroeville working with her brother in the family’s business. She graduated from Gateway High School before attending the University of Pittsburgh, then earned a master’s in international relations from the University of Oxford.
“I think the core of the story is hard work, grit and determination,” Patel said. “That’s something very special about western Pennsylvania, and I think it gets to the core of who we are as a region.”
Patel recently announced her bid to unseat Rep. Summer Lee in Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district’s 2024 Democratic primary.
While politics weren’t always Patel’s focus, service was, she said, noting that she worked in the service window of her mother’s food truck.
“A lot of that is talking to people and having conversations and getting to know people,” she said. “That’s something I really enjoyed. Growing up I wanted to find a career path that would allow me to do that.”
Patel started a small business focused on civic innovation when she moved back to western Pennsylvania from the United Kingdom. She was then appointed to the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Advisory Board by state Sen. Jay Costa before being elected to the Edgewood Borough Council and serving as a delegate for Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. She also served as Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s outreach manager and executive assistant.
“Public service is about being present in the community and serving the community,” Patel said. “For me, it’s about being in the district, getting a sense of people’s day-to-day lives and what people are experiencing that positions you to best serve and lead an area. That’s critical for me.”
Patel said that serving the region means securing strong federal funding to support projects in the district, including infrastructure, small businesses, transportation systems and workforce development.
“I think we’re uniquely positioned to attract federal funding that allows us to train our current workforce, making sure they don’t have to have four-year degrees to start small businesses and to stay here and find jobs, raise families and buy homes here. That’s what my family was able to accomplish,” she said.
Patel has attended various events supporting the Jewish community in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians and the ensuing war.
The congressional hopeful joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s “We Stand with Israel” rally on Oct. 8., and she attended an event sponsored by StandWithUs, a nonprofit pro-Israel education and advocacy group, on Oct. 17 at Temple Emanuel of South Hills. On Oct. 19, she joined a community vigil in solidarity with Israel at Schenley Park.
Patel said she has spent the last few weeks hearing the stories of Jewish Pittsburghers and listening to their experiences. She called the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack “absolutely devastating and tragic.”
“There’s a very visceral human component to this tragic situation in Israel and Gaza,” she said. “There was a terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas. Israel has the right to defend itself when 1,300 people are murdered. It’s pure evil. There will be a response to that. We cannot allow Hamas to exist. There is no debate about their wicked mission. They’ve made it very clear.”
Patel, who has previously run for state and federal office, noted that President Joe Biden has shown strong leadership in his commitment to Israel and in his work to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Gaza.
The Hamas attacks accounted for the largest loss of Jewish life in one day since the Holocaust, Patel said, adding that because the attacks came just three weeks before the five-year commemoration of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, many community members are feeling increased anxiety and tension.
Patel has disavowed the BDS (boycott, divest, sanctions) movement against Israel, prevalent on college campuses where many Jewish students have felt unsafe and unsupported while grappling with pro-Palestinian messaging.
“I do not support BDS,” she told the Chronicle. “I think we need to do a better job of educating on college campuses and being present on college campuses and engaging our students who are experiencing a lot of mental health challenges as it relates to antisemitism.”
Patel criticized Lee for her post on X (formerly Twitter) immediately following the Hamas incursion, in which Lee condemned the attack on “children and innocent civilians” but also called for a “de-escalation and an end to this tragic cycle of violence. To achieve this, we must bring an end to the occupation and help broker a just and lasting peace.”
Patel said her opponent has made it clear, time and again, that “she consistently operates at the fringes.”
“This is just another example of her operating on the fringes when the community expects her presence in the district,” she said. “As I said, when 1,300 people are murdered, it’s pure evil. Israel has a right to defend itself. This is just another example that shows she is out of touch with the people in the community.”
Patel is gaining the support of pro-Israel constituents disappointed with Lee’s voting record. In August, for example, Lee was one of only nine House members voting against a resolution declaring Israel “is not a racist or apartheid state.” She also joined a group of progressive lawmakers in co-sponsoring the Ceasefire Now resolution, urging an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in “Israel and occupied Palestine.” Other sponsors included Reps. Cori Bush, André Carson, Delia Ramirez and Rashida Tlaib.
Meryl Ainsman, a Democrat who lives in Squirrel Hill described Patel as “very bright” and “committed.”
“She’s willing to put in the hard work and the time,” Ainsman said. “She’s well educated. And I think she is trying very, very hard to connect with and understand her potential constituents.”
Not surprising given her background, Patel said she supports immigration, calling western Pennsylvania an “absolutely special region.”
“The concept of the American Dream is a beautiful thing, and when we think about the region and when I’m talking to people in the community, our diversity, different cultures, different religious beliefs — that vibrancy is what helps us thrive collectively,” she said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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