Add reality-TV contestant Surya Yalamanchili to the growing list of South Asians running for Congress.  Already we have Kansas Representative Raj Goyle (KS-04), physician and Iraq War Veteran Manan Trivedi, (PA-06), physician Ami Bera (CA-03), attorney Ravi Sangisetty (LA-03) and lawyer Reshma Sejauni (NY-14), all Democrats, running for Congress. Along comes Yalamanchili who is taking the novel approach of running as an independent. From Advertising Age, "Chili Runs for Congress":

Surya Yalamanchili, a former Procter & Gamble Co. brand manager perhaps known best for being fired by Donald Trump on season six of "The Apprentice," now wants to be hired by the people of Ohio's second Congressional district.

Mr. Yalamanchili, 28, has returned to Cincinnati to run as an independent after stints as a marketing director at LinkedIn and SocialMedia.com.

His "Apprentice" fame has helped an independent and seeming long shot secure a feature on the front page of CQpolitics.com. Given his background, he hopes to use social media, but he's planning plenty of traditional flesh-pressing, too. His campaign website, VoteChili.com, is a play both on his name and Cincinnati's affection for its own style of chili.

The seat he seeks has been held by Republican Jeanne Schmidt since 2005, but not firmly. She's faced substantial challenges in her past three primaries and general elections in a once-safe Republican district. She's best known for dressing in American flag garb for a November 2005 debate as well as aiming this message at congressional colleague John Murtha: "Cowards cut and run. Marines never do."

Ms. Schmidt won in 2008 in a field that included a centrist, fiscally conservative independent who got 18% of the vote. This time, that independent, David Krikorian, is running in the Democratic primary against Todd Book, favored by party leaders.

Mr. Yalamanchili looks to play on what he sees as growing disaffection with both parties. He's eschewing PAC contributions and laying out a centrist agenda that includes calling for an independent commission to recommend cuts in entitlement programs and other spending.

Here's his statement from his website:

I’ve lived the American dream, a blessed life that began in Pennsylvania. I was raised by two loving parents who taught me about hard work, sacrifice, and the opportunities that arise from these values. While studying at Rutgers I continued to work in the Internet field, something I had done since high school. I first came to Cincinnati in 2001 to spend the summer at Procter & Gamble and immediately fell in love with the area and the company. Years later, I left P&G to follow my long-held dream of being a part of a Silicon Valley startup. After success in the private sector — including serving as one of the youngest executives at several leading corporations — I now feel compelled to serve the public by taking action to change the direction in which our country is headed.

Simply put: Our government is out of control. It is no longer working for us. We have two political parties who consistently demonstrate that their true allegiance is to the preservation of their own power. Both parties regularly choose the special interests who fund their re-elections over the people they claim to represent. They would each rather score political points against the “other side” than enact true reform — and this despite their frequent promises to be “independent”. Increasingly, our nation’s challenges are as plain as day, the course of action obvious. Yet both parties seem incapable of enacting the urgent reforms we require.

So we are left with a simple fact: To get back on track, we must do the heavy lifting. We must return government to the path of responsibilityourselves. We must rebuild the fundamentals of our economy — real jobs, real growth, a sustainable future — ourselves. We must  secure our nation from threats that look nothing like those of the pastourselves.

And that is what this campaign is all about. My team is one of volunteers, not political insiders, who are working to take back our government and are shouldering the burden of making things right. As for myself, I have no special pedigree, no dynasty behind me, and no moneyed interests funding my campaign with strings attached. I’m running as an independent so I won’t owe loyalty to party bosses and the interest groups that own them. This campaign begins and ends with the people of the Ohio 2nd district.