Indian American voters supporting Kamala Harris’ presidential ticket have a new rallying cry: LOTUS for POTUS.
It stems from a translation of the vice president’s first name. “Kamala” in the classical South Asian language Sanskrit means “lotus,” a flower native to the region that’s significant across many religions on the subcontinent.
Abhay Dandekar took notice of this the Monday morning after President Joe Biden announced he was exiting the race. Between seeing patients, the 53-year-old pediatrician took out his phone and created a meme. It was Harris’ face behind white text that said, “In Sanskrit, Kamala means LOTUS. In America, Kamala means POTUS.”
“There was just a newfound energy … mostly because of how much in common I have with Vice President Harris,” Dandekar said. “It felt like something that resonated in the moment. And in all honesty, I made that in a couple of moments before going in to see patients.”
After he texted the meme to a few friends, it proceeded to blow up on WhatsApp groups, a town square for members of the South Asian diaspora all over the world.
“The hyperloop of WhatsApp and social media kicked in,” he said. “I had friends who by the afternoon said, ‘I’ve gotten this in a couple of different formats and on Instagram and Twitter.’”
Some on X, formerly Twitter, gave dispatches from their family group chats, saying South Asian voters are energized by Harris’ campaign, they’re connecting to her shared identity and they’re ready to vote in November.
A hesitant few on social media drew attention to the fact that the lotus flower conveys another powerful political message in India: It’s the symbol of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
During his address to a joint meeting of Congress last year, Modi praised Harris and invoked her Indian roots, drawing massive applause from the crowd and smiles from the vice president.
Despite the tenuous lotus connection, others weighed in after Dandekar with graphics of their own, including the American flag superimposed onto a lotus flower with “Harris 2024” as a tagline. Within a week, merchandise began to emerge, with “Lotus for POTUS” T-shirts selling for $30 a pop to raise money for Harris’ campaign.
It’s part of a larger movement aimed at drawing in South Asian voters, who have the potential to make a significant difference in certain swing states. In Arizona, for example, the Indian American population is larger than Biden’s margin of victory in 2020.
A new group, South Asian Women for Harris, raised over $250,000 for the campaign during a two-hour call last week, according to The Associated Press. Around 4,000 women attended, including panelists like actor Mindy Kaling and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
Before his exit from the race, Biden had fallen by 8 points among Asian American voters from 2020 to 2024. Experts still question how Harris will fare with the demographic given her low popularity ratings as vice president.
But 62% of Asian voters lean toward the Democratic Party, according to a Pew Research Center report published last year. And a survey of Asian American voters released in July showed Harris’ favorability is 10 points higher than former President Donald Trump’s.
“All the different elements of our diaspora and every diaspora that’s out there, they’re not monoliths and they’re not just voter blocs,” Dandekar said. “Hopefully the spirit of the Harris campaign will take that into account and find ways to build actual connection, not just through memes and not just through slogans.”
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