The bitter divide between supporters of former Democratic Party presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, continued even after the first woman president in the country’s history was nominated at the Democratic National Convention July 26 in Philadelphia.
Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal, 20, a an Indian-American Sikh delegate from California, the youngest in his 551-member strong delegation, was among those who walked out after the roll-call vote was over and Sanders pledged his unqualified support to Clinton.
He is symptomatic of a large number of Sanders supporters put off by how things went at the Convention.
But a majority are expected to come around and vote for Clinton come Nov. 8, according to analysts. Not so Bainiwal, who says nominee Clinton has a job to do to convince him she has changed.
The only Bernie supporter from among several Indian-American delegates from California, Bainiwal remains disillusioned about the ‘democratic’ process that unfolded during the first two-days of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, in Philadelphia, and highly skeptical of a Hillary presidency.
“I believe the issue with the Democratic National Committee Chair (Debbie Wasserman-Schultz) shows it was not a Democratic process,” of choosing the winning candidate in the first place, Bainiwal said. He was referring to the Wikileaks release of DNC emails showing the party actively leaned in favor Clinton and allegedly worked against Sanders. “It didn’t give Bernie Sanders a chance,” Bainiwal said. Sanders and his supporters had alleged this discrimination during the primary process.
Furthermore, during the Convention, “When Bernie delegates raised an issue, they were ignored,” Bainiwal said. “When you ignore half the delegates, that’s not democratic.”
However, he expressed some satisfaction with the changes in future candidate selection procedures that came about as a result of a highly contentious party Platform Committee meeting before the convention, where Sanders supporters pushed through key reforms not just in the platform, but also in the rules of procedure for selecting future presidential nominees.
“The 60 percent reduction in Superdelegates is really good, but it needs to be 100 percent,” Bainiwal said. Superdelegates are made up of party officials and elected members of Congress and state legislatures not pledged to any particular candidate. During this Democratic campaign, an overwhelming majority of Superdelegates were in the Clinton camp. Bainiwal reflects the angst among most Millennials as well as older Sanders supporters who feel betrayed by a system they say is rigged, echoing the views of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
A passionate Bernie supporter who campaigned door-to-door and engaged in phone-banking for the Senator from Vermont, said he was not sure what he will do when he enters the polling booth Nov. 8.
“All I know is I will cast my vote, and it won’t be a vote for Trump,” Bainiwal said emphatically. That however, does not translate into a Hillary vote automatically as there are Green Party and Libertarian candidates on the ballot as well.
The graduate from Humphreys College, Stockton, California, who specialized in Criminal Justice, says he will “wait and see” what Clinton does in the next few months. “Hillary Clinton has to gain my trust. I will see if she changes my views and if that happens then I will step in and help with the campaign,” Bainiwal said.
“She has a lot of work to do,” Bainiwal emphasized, and no amount of speeches by Vice President Joe Biden, or President Barack Obama “whom I love” will convince him to the contrary. Yes, Obama tried and tested Clinton as Secretary of State, but he is not highlighting what Bainiwal sees as her failures in the Middle East and South America, he said.
Bainiwal said he ran for delegate because one has to be politically engaged in order to make change, and more Indian-Americans needed to step forward.
He was the highest vote-getter at the state Democratic Party Caucus elections from California’s District 9, May 1. Seventeen men ran for three delegate slots and 20 women ran for 3.
Delegate seats were allotted on June 7, based on the overall vote, and 3 delegates were allotted to each or the presidential nominees from Bainiwal’s district by the Credentials Committee.
“I ran to get our voice heard. Politics affects every aspect of our lives,” he said.
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