In his second go around, underdog candidate Neeraj Nigam got a significant head start on his bid for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District seat this year.

He did not wait to jump into the race until late August as he had in 2006. In 2008, he declared his candidacy in February and was already in the full swing of the campaign by mid-July.

The candidate, who is running as an independent, is feeling more confident about this second campaign.

"I have been getting a lot more support. Last time, I did not know anybody and I did not know anything. … Now, I know my way around the system. I was a little bit hesitant to meet people before," Nigam, who is originally from the New Delhi area of India, said.

The Sterling Park resident will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) and Democratic candidate Judy Feder in the election Nov. 4.

In the 2006 race, Nigam won 1,184 votes, or less than one percent of the total ballots cast. Wolf, the winner, garnered approximately 139,000 votes in the same race, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.

Nigam said he used to identify as a Republican, though he only agreed with the Grand Old Party 60 percent of time and favored Democrats about 40 percent of the time.

Now, he sees all the political parties as part of the problematic Washington culture and does not want to identify with any of them.

"I saw all the congressman and senators voting for the benefit of the party instead of the people they represent. I cannot support any party because I cannot support any part of that," Nigam, who has lived in Northern Virginia since 1995, said.

He realizes his candidacy will be an uphill battle without a party machine and said he is up for the challenge.

"It is hard, but it is not impossible. It is little bit difficult to do, but I do not mind difficult tasks," said the candidate, who attended Annandale High School, but returned to India for college.

Nigam may have a easier time running as an independent in a congressional race than he would in statewide or national election, Dan Keyserling, deputy communications director for the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said.

"It might not take on a partisan tinge. The really local elections, often those are nonpartisan," Keyserling said.

Nigam originally became interested in running for Congress because he was upset by the federal government’s intrusion on the private lives of citizens.

He said President George W. Bush should not be allowed to use telecommunications companies to spy on people and listen to their conversations. Recently, he was disturbed to read about the Maryland state government spying on anti-death penalty organizations.

"This is something I would expect from a Hitler. These actions of the government are laying the foundation for Hitler to take over this country," Nigam said.

Nigam opposes the so-called Wall Street bailout package passed by the U.S. Congress and supported by Wolf. Instead, the federal government should give a $500 credit in the form of a prepaid credit card to every American and tell the public they have to use the money in six months.

"That would get money pumped into the economy and the economy would have to go up," Nigam said.

The candidate thinks those people who are facing foreclosure should be given the option of taking out a "regular" mortgage at the price their house is currently worth. If they cannot afford their home through a regular mortgage on their current income, then they should be able to "walk away" from the property without penalty or wrecking their credit, he said.

"If they can’t qualify for a regular mortgage, they should be able to walk away. If a company gave them a creative mortgage, I don’t think we should hold that against them," he said.

On a shoestring budget, Nigam is relying on volunteers to get the word out about his candidacy and the systems specialist has enlisted the support of at least one of his coworkers from CACI International, Charmaine Britt.

"I am out here trying to get these posters up. … I gave what little support I could two years ago," Britt, a Prince William County resident who cannot actually vote for Nigam, said.

Britt added that Nigam would put his constituents first.

"I know he is about the people," she said.