US elections: Kamala Harris appoints Indian-American as her press secretary

Senator Kamala Harris has roped in Indian-American Sabrina Singh, who previously was the spokeswoman of two Democratic presidential candidates, as press secretary for her Democratic vice presidential campaign.

Singh, 32, previously headed the press shop of two Democratic presidential candidates -- New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Last week, Democratic presumptive vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, 77, picked 55-year-old Indian-origin Harris as his running mate.

"I'm so excited to join the #BidenHarris ticket as Press Secretary for @KamalaHarris! Can't wait to get to work and win in November!," said Singh, the first-ever Indian-American press secretary to a vice presidential nominee of a major political party.

A resident of Los Angeles, Singh was earlier spokesperson of the Democratic National Committee.

She is the granddaughter of Sardar J J Singh of the India League of America, a non-profit organisation which champions the interests of Indian-American community in the US.

In the 1940s, J J Singh along with a small group of fellow Indians mounted a nationwide campaign against racial discriminatory policies of the US. This culminated in the then president Harry Truman signing the Luce-Celler Act on July 2, 1946. The signing of the Act allowed a quota of 100 Indians to immigrate to the United States per annum.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan-American Rohini Kosoglu has been appointed in a senior role to advise Harris. She has earlier served as a senior advisor to Harris in her Senate office and presidential campaign.

Harris was a presidential aspirant until last year before she dropped out of the race because of lack of popular support.