L.A. Mayorial Candidate Antonio Villaraigosa has pandered to pretty much every ethnic minority in L.A. in his bid to unseat incumbent Jim Hahn. Why not South Asians? Indiawest reports:
If elected mayor of Los Angeles in the May 17 election, city councilman Antonio Villaraigosa pledged that, in making Los Angeles more “open” to South Asians…His administration would also seriously consider making appointments from within those communities
In fairness though, you have to excessively pander in L.A. to win.
Apparently the fundraising dinner was the first big event that the newly formed BAPAC (the Bangladeshi American Political Action Committee) has taken part in. Given that middle/upper-class first-gen American desi politicking invariably involves well-to-do brown men posing for pictures with candidates, at least they picked a decent candidate to support for their launch event.
Check out the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi groups listed on Villaraigosa‘s endorsements list.