(Image source from: Detroit Free Press)

An Indian-origin entrepreneur Suneel Gupta is seeking to enter the House of Representatives from Michigan. He is a younger brother of America's top medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Suneel is among the five candidates running in the Democratic primary from the 11th Congressional District of Michigan, with an intent to expand health-care access and lowering costs. The winner of the August 7 Democratic primary would contest for this open seat after incumbent David Trott of the Republican Party declared that he was not seeking a re-election.

Suneel, 38, said, if elected, his priority would be to make quality and affordable health care available to all

He comes from a famed Indian-American family from Michigan. His parents, Subhash and Damyanti Gupta, moved from India to Michigan to work as engineers for Ford Motor Company.

Suneel, in a recent statement, had said that he had broken the fundraising record by raising more than USD 1.3 million, which is highest among all the candidates running for the Congress from the seat.

In 2012, Dr. Sanjay Gupta helped Suneel Gupta start a health-care company Rise that uses technology to cut down the outgo of quality health care. After the startup served over 1,000 patients, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama asked Rise to be her team's official technology partner.

"Fifty years ago, Ford Motor Company hired my mom, making her the company’s first female engineer. That job allowed my parents to put food on the table and help pay for our education. It gave us our Michigan values of hard work, integrity, and service," Suneel said.

"Those values shape who I am today as a family man and an entrepreneur. I was born and raised in Michigan's 11th district, and I'm ready to fight for the working families of this community that gave my family so very much," he said.

Releasing his first ad, Gupta said, "I'm the only candidate in the race with hands-on health-care experience," he said.

By Sowmya Sangam