India Abroad assembled three representative voices from both the Republican and Democratic camp but steered clear of 'authorised spokesmen'.

Those picked were young, dynamic, articulate members of the Indian Diaspora in the US who have informed views and perspectives on the issues governing the US presidential race. They were put around a table at India Abroad's New York office and made to talk to each other.

The participants were Republicans -- Vijay Dandapani, chief operating officer, Applecore Hotels, New York; Suhail Khan, Republican advisor on policy issues and Kishan Putta, co-founder, Indian Americans for McCain. Democrats -- Toby Chaudhuri, Democrat strategist; Satish Poondi, who ran for office for the Edison City Council, New Jersey and Varun Nikore, founder, Indian American Leadership Initiative.

The debate was moderated by Sree Srinivasan, professor of journalism at Columbia University and founder of the South Asian Journalists' Association and India Abroad Editor Aziz Haniffa.

Videos: Paresh Gandhi