There are two Indian American candidates in the running to occupy the governor’s mansion in the state of Connecticut. Mudita ‘Dita’ Bharagava of Greenwich, Connecticut, a Democrat, had announced her intention to run for governor of the state back in October, while another Indian-American, state legislator Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, a Republican, is already registered to run for the Aug. 14 primaries in the Constitution state. The deadline for filing is June 12, and Bhargava has yet to file her papers to run for Governor.
Connecticut’s unpopular Governor, incumbent Dan Malloy, a Democrat, announced last April that he would not seek a third term. That has led to a slew of Democratic and Republican candidates rushing to fill the gap. At least 8 Democrats and 14 Republicans have filed their paperwork.
Bhargava is facing some headwinds from her own Democratic colleagues, according to a news report by the The New Haven Register, which in its online edition indicated there was talk among rival Democrats that Bhargava should run for some other office. The report did not identify anyone by name, saying only that, “State treasurer is one that the former hedge fund portfolio manager’s name has been linked to by some rival Democrats.”
Bhargava responded that all her life she had been used to people pigeonholing her. I’m used to people telling me I don’t belong somewhere,” the nhregister.com report quoted Bhargava saying. Bhargava told the paper she had faced sexual harassment in the workplace during her life.
“Yeah, absolutely. It was the 1990s. At that time, you either took it and continued to work hard toward your goals or you left. Leaving was not a choice for me,” said the potential gubernatorial candidate who has worked at Royal Bank of Scotland in New York, been a Wall Street trader as well as a portfolio manager at Bear Stearns, Citadel Investment Group, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Dillon Read Capital Management. Bhargava told nhregister.com “she hasn’t ruled out anything, including switching her exploratory committee to a candidate committee for governor,” the news outlet said in a Feb. 12 report. The Democratic gubernatorial hopeful said at the time of her initial announcement that she was a “different kind” of Democrat because she was not a politician and is pro-business. In later interviews she has fleshed out her ideas about public-private partnership for the economic development of the state.
Dr. Srinivasan is currently serving his fourth term as the State Representative from Glastonbury. He is the Assistant Republican Leader and is the Ranking member of the Public Health Committee. He also serves in the Environment and Judiciary Committees. He serves on the Health Information Technology Council and as Co-Chair of the National Health Policy Council. A. medical practitioner in the Greater Hartford area since 1980, Dr. Srinivasan was named “Top Doctor” by Connecticut Magazine, eighth year in a row. Connecticut’s Fairfield Medical County Association established a Prasad Srinivasan Award for medical advocacy.
In terms of community involvement, Dr. Srinivasan had established the Prasad Family Foundation in 1999 to promote Education and donates Legislative Salary for worthy causes. He also serves as Ambassador of Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and as a Corporator for Hartford Hospital.
A physician by profession, Srinivasan opposed the legalization of cannabis for medical use in 2012, saying he believed in its efficacy, but was troubled by questions of practicality. But he relented in 2016 and voted to expand the law to allow the limited use of cannabis to treat children with conditions not treatable by conventional means.
He voted against repeal of the death penalty in 2012. He supported passage of the sweeping gun-control law passed in 2013 in response to the Sandy Hook School shooting of 26 children and staff. “I am old enough,” he said, “and I am young enough.”
An eloquent speaker and totally committed to high ideals in public and private life, Dr. Srinivasan has been serving as the Assistant Republican leader in the House, a Ranking member of the Public Health Committee, and a National Co-Chair of the Health Policy Council. He has been presented with numerous awards for his legislative leadership. He was the Top Doctor 7th year in a row by Connecticut Magazine.
Prasad Srinivasan is married to Mrs. Kala Prasad, a professional musician for over 30 years. Their two children graduated from Glastonbury High school. Son, Sashank Prasad, M.D., is Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Sashank’s wife, Kerry, is a high school teacher by profession, currently a stay home mom taking care of their two children. Daughter, Anusha Prasad-Rodriguez is the Head of Alternate Investments at Oppenheimer. Her husband, Paul, is a manager at Analysis Group, Inc. They have two daughters.
