New York: Indian-American attorney and educator Neil Makhija has thrown his hat in the ring for the May 16 primary election for Commissioner of Montgomery County -- the third largest county in Pennsylvania with over 865,000 people.

If elected, the 36-year-old election law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, would be the first South Asian member to serve for the position left open by outgoing commissioner Valerie Arkoosh.

Makhija, who belongs to a Sindhi family from India, recently announced leave from serving as Executive Director of IMPACT, the nation’s leading South Asian civic organisation, to join the electoral race.

Under his leadership, IMPACT has endorsed several Indian and South Asian American candidates who have been elected at various levels of the government. In 2021, Makhija was one of 13 civil rights leaders invited to the White House to advise President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on voting rights.