Chicago, Aug 26 - Raja Krishnamoorthi, who has been an adviser to President Barack Obama during his campaign for the US Senate, has formally announced his campaign for the post of Illinois state comptroller. Krishnamoorthi shares more than just his alma mater with Obama. Like Obama, New Delhi-born Krishnamoorthi went to Harvard Law School.

Like Obama, the desire for public service led Krishnamoorthi, 36, to opt out of a lucrative legal career.

And if Krishnamoorthi emulates the success of Obama, who went from being a rank political outsider to the first African American president, Krishnamoorthi, too, could end up being the first Indian American elected to public office in Illinois.

Illinois state politics has of late been in the grip of scandals involving deposed governor Rod Blagojevich. The scandals have embroiled several prominent Indian Americans, although none has been charged of any crime.

High on his agenda, declared Krishnamoorthi, is good governance. 'We need people in government who believe public service is an opportunity to help others, not just a 'friends and family' plan,' he said.

The Illinois state comptroller is the chief fiscal officer of Illinois whose duties include serving as the taxpayer's financial watchdog, administering the state's payroll and employee benefits and overseeing the state's cemeteries and funeral homes.

Krishnamoorthi was the deputy treasurer of Illinois, a post he quit recently to run the present campaign.

Krishnamoorthi acknowledged Obama, who started his political career as a community organiser in Chicago, as his mentor. 'I entered public life to follow Barack's example,' he said, 'I believe, as he does, that well-run government is not an oxymoron. We need a government willing to embrace new rules and new technologies that can make it more efficient and more effective.'

'Life is full of tradeoffs,' Krishnamoorthi told IANS when asked the inevitable question -- why he left a law firm to work with the state. 'I have taken a drop in compensation for the chance to work in the public arena.'

But beyond personal fulfilment, he is also driven by a desire to repay a debt, long overdue. 'When we came to the US, we had very little for a short time,' he said, 'My father was well educated, but it was a recession and we went through very tough times.