His family emigrated to the New York City borough, The Bronx,[1] where he grew up and became, in his words, a "ferocious Yankees fan.
"[2] He attended Harvard College, where he opposed Reserve Officers Training Corps presence,[3] and graduated summa cum laude[4] in 1990.
Bhargava began his career at ACORN, where he served as legislative director[5] and spokesperson.
[6] He joined the Center for Community Change in 1994 as the director of public policy.
[7] In 2000, he directed the National Campaign for Jobs and Income Support coalition of grassroots groups working on federal welfare law.