A Republican candidate in the mid-term polls diverged from the party line as he blamed US President Donald Trump -- a Republican himself -- for a host of problems afflicting California, a predominantly Democratic state.
Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in California's 17th Congressional District, Ritesh Tandon, in an interview with NDTV World's Vishal Vivek, said Trump's policies have brought about high inflation, high interest rates, high living costs and joblessness.
Tandon will take on Democratic incumbent Ro Khanna in the midterms.
The candidate was critical of Trump's policies, including imposing huge tariffs on rivals and allies alike.
"Right now, when you look into the Bay Area and across the USA, because of the tariffs that he has imposed, the prices are very high. Inflation is very high. The housing interest rate, if anybody wants to buy, earlier it was in the 4 to 5 range; right now it's in the 7.5 range. So everything, including gas prices. So certainly, President Trump, he needs to slow down," he said.
Tandon said Trump's war on Iran sent oil prices spiralling, which boosted inflation.
"He has really done a lot of damage by starting the war with Iran, and then especially the oil prices went up. Diesel prices right now are 8 to 9 dollars. Earlier, it used to be 4 dollars or 3 dollars. So with diesel, all the merchandise costs, everything started going up. So people are not happy. Because some people in America live hand to mouth," he added.
He promised that if he is elected, he will help stop the war and control inflation.
He also vowed to reform immigration policy.
"I will bring about reform because, in immigration policy, country quotas, which hurt Indians the most, I want to remove them. Because when you look at Americans, when you look at white Europeans, when they come to this country, and Indian-Americans, Indians, when they come to this country, Indians wait for 20 years to get a green card, whereas white Europeans get a green card in six months. We do the same job, pay the same taxes; everything is the same. But still, we wait for 20 years and suffer, whereas Europeans get a green card in six months because of country quotas, and 10,000 green cards can be allocated to every country. I'm going to remove those country quotas," he said.
He said the Republican priorities are "affordability, low gas prices, less regulation, more innovation, AI education for children."
"We want to, we want to work towards the American dream, whereas when we see our opponent, he's focusing a lot more on giving free grants," he added.
"In fact, the crime rate has fallen drastically in the Bay Area, as well as in the US. But at this time, people are tired and frustrated because in California, it is a one-party Democratic rule. Only one thing Ro Khanna has done very well. He has built his own wealth from $0 million to $340 million, whereas he's moving to a $10 million mansion," he said.