Raj Bhakta

Raj Bhakta

Infobox Celebrity


image_size = 150px
name = Raj Bhakta
birth_date = birth date and age|1975|12|7
birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = politician
salary =
networth =
spouse =
website =
footnotes =
children =

Raj Peter Bhakta (born December 7, 1975, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an entrepreneur former contestant on the second season of the reality show "The Apprentice". He won the Republican Party's endorsement for the United States House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district, but lost to incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz.

Background

Born to an Indian father and Irish motherFact|date=April 2008, Bhakta moved from Northeast Philadelphia's Oxford Circle to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania where he grew up. After graduating from The Hill School in 1994, Raj Bhakta earned bachelor's degrees in Economics and History with a concentration in Finance from Boston College in 1998. He began his career working at the investment banking firm of Violy & Co. in New York [cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/search.php?qs=raj+bhakta&type=11&stype=all&tag=search%3Bbutton|title= Raj Bhakta's Biography on TV.com| accessdate=2006-06-11] .

"The Apprentice"

In the fall of 2004, Bhakta appeared on the second season of the business oriented reality television show, "The Apprentice". Bhakta was remembered for his witty discourse and appreciation of the opposite sex, famously trying to take Anna Kournikova and Donald's Trump's assistant on dates. Bhakta was fired by Donald Trump on the ninth week of the show. [cite web|url=http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Apprentice_2/index.shtml|title= The Apprentice 2 NBC Homepage| accessdate=2006-07-31]

2006 Congressional campaign

According to Tom Ellis, the Republican chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, Bhakta was a "breath of fresh air"http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/philadelphia_county/philadelphia/15917650.htm] to the Montgomery County GOP. Fighting against a well-financed incubent, Bhakta received over 78,000 votes. [ [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/PA/index.html CNN.com - Elections 2006 ] ] Bhakta had raised more than $480,000.

DUI arrests

During Bhakta's campaign for Congress, The Smoking Gun revealed that Bhakta had been arrested in college in Massachusetts for driving under the influence of alcohol. Bhakta was not found guilty, and the case was subsequently dismissed .cite web|url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0330061raj1.html|title=When Raj Bow-Tied One On] He agreed to undergo an alcohol-education program and pay a $35 fine. After the smoking gun report Bhakta admitted the he been arrested a second time, in 2004 in Vail, Colorado, where Bhakta was living at the time. The case was also dismissed. [ Silverman, Stephen M. " [http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1179429,00.html Ex-'Apprentice' Hopeful Admits to DUI] ." "People." April 3, 2006. ]

ave the Northeast

The Bhakta campaign made law and order a focus of his campaign in Northeast Philadelphia. Following reports of heightened crime in the city, Bhakta laid out a position offering more police on the streets, halting or eliminating Section 8, and using Homeland Security funds for crime prevention. Bhakta also blamed Mayor John Street for failing to hire more police officers in the face of increasing murder rates in the city. [cite web | url=http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/15858852.htm | title=Philadelphia Inquirer| ]

Debates

Bhakta often criticized Schwartz for refusing to debate during the campaign. Bhakta initially challenged Schwartz to twelve debates, six in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and six in Northeast Philadelphia. [http://www.newsgleaner.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=16757508&BRD=2340&PAG=461&dept_id=488595&rfi=8] The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and the Northeast Times, a local newspaper, also offered to host debates. However, Schwartz did not accept any debate invitations. [cite web|url=http://www.northeasttimes.com/2006/1005/debate.html|title="Will She or Won't She?"]

Border security

On October 10, 2006, Bhakta illustrated the ease of crossing the United States-Mexico border by riding an elephant along the border for ninety minutes with a six-man mariachi band playing. Neither Bhakta, the elephant, nor the mariachi band broke the law by crossing the border, remaining on private property along the Rio Grande Texas. [http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15732791.htm] Bhakta stated that he got the idea by seeing a Mexican illegally crossing the border by wading across the Rio Grande. Bhakta had a camera to record the man's illegal crossing, and succeeded in getting the man detained by border. authorities. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4253002.html]

The demonstration garnered national attention for Bhakta's campaign. [cite web|url=http://www.newsgleaner.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17353815&BRD=2340&PAG=461&dept_id=488595&rfi=6|title="A Bold Move" by William Rice] [cite web|url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/01/diddly_awards.html|title="Mother Jones article] Bhakta was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly, [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEsdj203RcM|title=Interview with Bill O'Reilly] Rita Cosby, [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAcIGx-nxdI|title=Interview with Rita Cosby] Glenn Beck, [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yLzUGt93SQ|title=Interview with Glenn Beck] and John Gibson. [cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diwJHN9gUrY|title=Interview with John Gibson] "This is not about the poor Mexican immigrant who wants to come for a better life that's the real problem here," Bhakta said. He added, "The border security is a joke and this is a creative and very effective way of showing it." [http://www.newsgleaner.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17353815&BRD=2340&PAG=461&dept_id=488595&rfi=6]

Robocall controversy

On November 7, 2006, the "Philadelphia Daily News" reported that Bhakta's campaign made "stunning" automated campaign calls to homes in Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County detailing the charges in 18 lawsuits against the abortion clinic founded by his opponent Allyson Schwartz. [http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/15947708.htm]

Notes and references

External links

*imdb name|id=1722404
*tvtome person|id=314537


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