Washington: Combine the American President in the White House with an Indian-American astronaut speaking from the International Space Station, add hundreds of guests to the historic East Room of the President's House and brighten it up with diyas inside and rangoli outside – and Diwali could Things will be no better for the Desi community in the power corridors of Washington DC.

On Monday evening, Joe Biden – who ended his vice presidency in 2016 by hosting the first Diwali meeting at the vice president's residence – held his final Diwali celebration at the White House, the largest in his history as he begins his four-year term to end term as president.

And Indians of all stripes—politicians and senior administration officials, business leaders and social activists, Democratic donors and philanthropists, cultural figures and artists—celebrated together as they strolled through the East Room.

But with the elections just a week away and Biden's Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin candidate in the presidential race, running as a major party nominee, politics may not be far behind. While private conversations revolved around the state of the race and a clear decline in Democratic morale was evident, Biden promoted the candidate he supported as his successor.

“I chose Kamala as my vice president for many reasons. She is smart. She's tough. She is trusted. District Attorney, Attorney General of California, United States Senator, Vice President of the United States: She has more experience than the other man she is running against. But the most important thing, and I mean this sincerely, is that she has character,” Biden said, making clear remarks against Donald Trump.

Biden's pitch came on the day of a Carnegie Endowment poll that suggested 61% of the Indian-American community backed Harris, a clear majority but still a decline from the 68% estimated to have supported Biden in 2020 Given broader changes in the rest of American society, Indian-American men under 40 have turned to Trump in greater numbers, while women and older people are clearly behind Harris.

Biden then said that Harris and he agreed on the role their respective mothers played in their lives. Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a scientist who came to the United States from India in 1958. “Different generations. Different places. Different lives. But they shared a common belief about America. Only in America is everything possible,” Biden said.

Biden then recognized US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who had addressed the president, recognized three congressmen in attendance – Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Shri Thanedar – and called Khanna's children to the stage. And Biden praised the journey that Indian-Americans had taken, a journey of hard work, education, entrepreneurship, faith and family. As an example of how far this journey could take people, Biden pointed to Sunita Williams, the Indian-American astronaut who sent the gathering her Diwali greetings from space.

Biden spoke of America's uniqueness as a country founded on the idea of ​​equality, claimed he had fulfilled his promise to create a diverse government that “looks like America” ​​and called this moment a turning point that will shape the future will determine for decades. Biden's senior Indian-American government officials also briefed a number of prominent Indian-American community leaders on the administration's achievements earlier in the day. In the final week of the campaign, Diwali offered Democrats a chance to reconnect with a natural constituency of supporters that is showing signs of needing more political attention.