Bobby Jindal, the next American vice-president?

Indian American Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has a good chance of being selected as vice-presidential running mate of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a media report has said.

"Though the nation's first Indian-American governor may be flying a bit under the radar in the VP speculation game, his chance of being selected may be as good as any of the more buzzed-about prospects," RealClearPolitics.Com has said.

"He's certainly on the short list as far as qualified people that could be a complement to Governor Romney," Utah Governor Gary Herbert, who endorsed the now-presumptive nominee in early February was quoted as saying.

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Jindal, who is serving a second term as governor, himself has denied having any vice presidential ambition, and have gone on record several times in the past few weeks that he is currently focused on his job of being the Governor of Louisiana.

"Governor Romney's hallmark is his ability to turn things around, whether the Olympics in Utah, or turning around Massachusetts when he was governor, or turning around businesses from failure to success -- that's certainly going to be a big part of his platform, and Bobby's done that as governor of Louisiana," Herbert told RealClearPolitics.

The news portal said Jindal's dismal shows in 2009 when he addressed the nation soon after Obama's State of the Union Address is unlikely to play any major role in his selection as Romney's running mate.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who considered a presidential bid last year and remains one of the most well-connected members of the national Republican establishment, said he had "no idea" whom Romney would pick as his running mate but praised Jindal as "extremely capable" and "genuinely knowledgeable about public policy."

"Plus he's a very nice guy -- pretty family and a good person," Barbour said. "He's just got a tremendous capacity," Barbour was quoted as saying.

Though he is only 40, Jindal is already one of the more experienced Republican governors in the country, having been in office for 4 and half years after serving three years as Louisiana's 1st District representative in the US House, RealClearPolitics.com said.

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