November 17, 2003	Monday	Ramazan 21, 1424

NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana) Nov 16: Piyush “Bobby” Jindal narrowly lost his bid on Saturday to become governor of the southern US state of Louisiana and the first Indian-American governor in the history of the United States.

Jindal conceded defeat shortly after 10:00 pm (0400 GMT Sunday) with 97 percent of ballots counted. With 48 percent of the vote, he trailed his opponent, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco, by four percentage points.

“I stand here disappointed but not discouraged,” the 32-year-old Republican said. “We made the case that the American dream is more alive in Louisiana than anywhere else. We proved that any child in Louisiana, whether their family has been here for six generations or one, whether they went to rich private schools or public schools like mine, they can dream big dreams right here in Louisiana.”—AFP