Bobby Jindal's campaign gains ground in Iowa

Washington: Indian-American Bobby Jindal's presidential campaign seems to be gaining ground in the crucial primary state of Iowa, as a latest internal survey has put the Louisiana Governor to fourth place among 16 Republican aspirants.

44-year-old Jindal draws eight per cent support from likely GOP caucus-goers in Iowa, according to a survey conducted this week by his campaign, the Politico reported.

However, he still trails Scott Walker, who has a commanding lead with 23 per cent support in the poll, as well as Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, who polled at 13 and 9 per cent, respectively, it said, referring to the internal survey.

Ever since announcing his presidential campaign about a month ago, Jindal has spent a significant amount of time campaigning in Iowa; which would hold first of the major primaries in February.

"Bottom line, Gov. Bobby Jindal has taken off in Iowa," said Wes Anderson, who conducted the poll for Jindal’s campaign.

"No other candidate has seen as much positive movement as Jindal. If he remains on this trajectory, the coming weeks are likely to show the governor making even greater strides as his message continues to draw acceptance from Iowa Republicans," he was quoted as saying by Politico.

Shannon Dirmann, the campaign press secretary, said the new poll showed Jindal's favorability rating continues to rise in Iowa. Improvements in a candidate's image are a precursor to movement on the ballot.

Among Iowa Republicans, Jindal has the 6th best net-favorables of any candidate for President — a 44-point positive margin. And among all Iowa voters, Jindal is one of only five Republicans in the entire field with a net-positive image (+9), the press secretary said.

Despite an early surge in Iowa, Jindal has a long way to go to make an impact on the primaries as his national popularity rating is quite low.

According to the average of all the recent national polls, Jindal is ranked 14th in terms of popularity among 16 Republican presidential candidates.

Jindal is the first Indian-American to be running for American presidency.

"Although his campaign claims his support is surging in Iowa, the polls continue to suggest that Jindal has not caught on in the rest of the country," the local Advocate newspaper said.