How Modi and his team resisted attempts to campaign for Clinton

According to sources in the BJP, the PM as well as the party have recieved several requests

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity among the large Indian diaspora, particularly those living in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US), has in recent months also led to piquant situations. He has been called upon with entreaties that he indicate to the influential diaspora that he supports one of the two candidates in the US presidential rate, or even that he opposes Brexit.

According to sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party, who manage the party's diaspora outreach, the PM as well as the party have resisted such attempts, and in hindsight, it would seem, advisedly given that both the Brexit vote, the decision of Britons that their country should exit from the European Union, and the US presidential vote thrown up results that few could forecast.

Prime Minister Modi was in Brussels in March end to attend the India-European Union (EU) summit when emissaries from the then incumbent British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that he appeal to the Indian diaspora in the UK to reject ‘Brexit’ in the referendum that was then a little over two months away.

In November 2015, Cameron had witnessed first-hand the popularity the Indian PM enjoyed among the 1.5 million strong Indian diaspora in the UK. Cameron had attended Modi’s Wembley Stadium event and his government had made an extra effort to make the Indian PM’s UK visit a resounding success.

According to people in the Bharatiya Janata Party in the know of the development the pressure was "immense" but Modi had to turn down the request. The BJP source said Modi had clarity that he shouldn’t involve himself in a process that was the internal matter of the British. His hunch, as Britons voted for ‘Brexit’ in the referendum in June, proved to be correct.

Similar requests were put on Modi as well as the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP), the party’s diaspora outreach, to indicate to the Indian diaspora living in the US to vote for Democrat candidate Hilary Clinton. Here again, the grand reception that the diaspora had accorded the Indian PM during his visits to the US, first in 2014 and then 2015, had convinced Clinton’s supporters to request his help.

Several arguments were put forth – Donald Trump, the Republican candidate and Clinton’s rival, was anti-immigrants and anti-trade. It was pointed out that Clinton has visited India often and India-US relations have been good during Barack Obama’s stint at the White House. Similar requests, but not that forcefully, were also received from Trump supporters among the Indian diaspora.

Yet again, the PM as well as the OFBJP resisted these pressures. There was clarity that the US presidential election was an internal affair of the Americans.
 

Sources, however, conceded that the feedback from diaspora groups in the US was unanimous in its assessment of a Clinton victory. Moreover, the Indian diaspora is concentrated in states that traditionally vote Democrat. The OFBJP pursued a “hands off” approach with community members, depending on local conditions, supporting both Trump as well as Clinton.

The challenge, however, for the OFBJP is to find points of contact in the Trump administration. Shalabh Kumar, Chicago based businessman and chief of the Republican Hindu Association, is the obvious points person. He had campaigned for Trump among the Indian diaspora and raised $ 1 million funds for the campaign. Kumar, who hails from Punjab, is close to some of the Delhi based BJP leaders. However, he is yet to win the trust of Modi's team.