Rep Kumar P Barve, the first Indian-American to serve in a state legislature, in Maryland House of Delegates for 24 years, has announced that he will run for the Congress, from the 8^th District, vacated by Rep Chris Van Hollen (D), Washington Post reported.

â€˜I am ready to take my experience working for economic growth and fighting for our middle class to the federal level. This isnâ€™t going to be easy. Offering bold and innovative proposals to rebuild our middle class and grow our economy never is,â€™ Rep Barve said.

Rep Van Hollen is planning to contest as US Senator in place of Sen Barbara Mikulski, who is retiring.

The 8^th District comprises of Montgomery, Frederick and Carroll counties.

Barve, 56, has been a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for 24 years and was the chamber\'s majority leader from 2003 until earlier this year. Barve is an accountant and the chief financial officer at Environmental Management Services Inc., an environmental and hazardous waste remediation company.

Barve is now the chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.

Barve pointed to his work in the state legislature to improve the state\'s public school system, invest in biotechnology and information technology, increase the minimum wage, expand health insurance availability and keep college tuition from dramatically increasing.

In November 2007, Barve was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. In a roadside breath test, Barve registered a blood alcohol level of 0.10, slightly more than the legal limit. In 2008, Barve pleaded guilty and received unsupervised probation as part of his plea agreement.

Those who are considering a run for the primary include state Sen Jamie Raskin (Montgomery), state Sen Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (Montgomery), former Montgomery school board and council member Valerie Ervin, former state delegate candidate Will Jawando and Marriott executive and former news anchor Kathleen Matthews, according to the Post.

Rep Kumar Barve to run for US Congress