Washington, Oct 21 : Bobby Jindal, Republican US Representative, was on Saturday, elected as the Governor of Louisiana, in the process becoming the first Indian-American to lead a US State.

Jindal, 36, the Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants, won 53 per cent votes with his nearest competitor Democrat Walter Boasso who could procure only 18 per cent of votes. Independent John Georges received14 per cent and Democrat Foster Campbell garnered 13 per cent of the votes.

Jindal has become the state’s first non-white governor since Reconstruction and the nation's youngest governor in office upon taking oath in January.

“My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American Dream, and guess what happened? They found the American Dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana,” a foreign news agency quoted Jindal as saying in his victory speech.

The race for the post of the Governor is said to be one of the highest spending in Louisiana’s history.

Jindal alone raised 11 million dollars, and Georges poured about 10 million dollars of his personal wealth into his campaign, while Boasso spent around five million dollars.

Incidentally, in 2003, Jindal garnered 48 per cent of the vote, but still lost to Democrat Kathleen Blanco. Blanco ended her re-election bid earlier this year after being sharply criticised for sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (ANI)