From correspondents in California, United States, 12:32 PM IST

South Asians for Obama (SAFO), a grassroots movement that seeks to mobilize the support of the South Asian American community to help elect Senator Barack Obama as the next US president, launched its New York chapter Thursday.

With chapters in seven US cities already, SAFO continues to grow and unite the South Asian community around US Senator Obama's vision for America's future.

Last week, SAFO's Los Angeles chapter was officially launched by Nimmi Gowrinathan, Zachariah Mampilly, Rishi Manchanda, Nitasha Sawhney, Kanwarjit Singh and Varun Soni. The launched also attracted more than three dozen South Asian youth, India West, an ethnic Indian newspaper, reported.

On February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for the 2008 US presidential election. Opinion polls rank him as the second or third most popular choice among Democratic voters for their party's nomination. In recent campaign appearances, Obama has emphasized the Iraq war and universal health care as leading issues.

According to the US Senate Historical Office, Obama, a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, is the fifth African American Senator in US history and the only African American currently serving in the US Senate.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)