Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in New York on Tuesday evening for a historic state visit to the United States. Besides meeting Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk, PM Modi met think tank experts, eminent leaders, and health experts on Tuesday.
This is Modi’s sixth US visit since coming to power in May 2014, but his first State visit to the country. Modi will join the ranks of Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela as one of the few leaders to address a joint session of Congress more than once.
After leading the celebration marking International Yoga Day at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi will leave for Washington DC, where US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a private dinner.
As always, Prime Minister Modi is also scheduled to address on Friday the vibrant Indian-American community, who waited at the John F Kennedy Airport in New York to give a grand welcome to the Indian Prime Minister, in Washington. Slogans of “Modi Modi” and India-US friendship were everywhere.
PM Modi’s globe-trotting has been in the spotlight throughout his nine-year tenure in office. In the last nine years, the Prime Minister has undertaken nearly 115 foreign visits, covering over 60 countries across the world.
After PM Modi’s visit to the US in September 2021, party president JP Nadda referred to Modi’s friendship with US President Joe Biden and also noted that India has emerged as a global player under the PM.
BJP has time and again reiterated that his skillful diplomacy on the world stage has enhanced India’s global stature and brought in a flood of investment.
According to BJP leaders, Modi’s visits have always been critical to his overall image building, and he always makes it a point to connect to the diaspora when he travels abroad.
“PM Modi’s US visits play a critical role in building his overall image. Whether it was the ‘Howdy Modi!’ event or the Madison Square Garden one that attracted a sold-out crowd for a speech, it helped the BJP send a clear message that the PM is protecting India’s interest,” said a BJP leader.
BJP leaders say that such events help in creating a positive perception about the government and especially the PM.
The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), which is the volunteer army of the BJP overseas, with some of them having deep roots in the RSS, plays a pivotal role to energise the Indian diaspora.
The idea to engage the Indian diaspora in Australia or the US is part of the BJP’s overall preparations for facing the 2024 parliamentary elections.
When members of the diaspora call back home and explain to their family and friends how India is viewed as a strong nation under Modi, it makes a difference at the polling booth.
All this, according to the BJP, will help shore up an additional 2-3% votes for the party which has lost no opportunity to project Modi as a global leader.
Union Minister for Sports and Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s praise for PM Narendra Modi and India’s business potential reveals a lot about the country’s leadership and about PM Modi himself.
“PM Modi’s US visit has just begun, and a lot of things are going to take place…it is going to be a historic moment,” he added.
After meeting PM Modi in the US, Elon Musk, said, “I’m incredibly excited about the future of India. India has more promise than any large country in the world.”
Speaking on PM Modi’s leadership role in making technology inclusive so that digital infrastructure can be created, Musk said, “I can say he (Modi) really wants to do the right things for India. He wants to be open, supportive of new companies and at the same time ensures that it accrues to India’s advantage…I am a fan of Modi.”
While the primary objective of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the United States is to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the US and India, PM Modi, who is known to put up big shows during his foreign trips and has addressed packed stadiums in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia that have large expatriate Indian populations, the other objective is to use the diaspora as a campaign tool back home.
Many of these gatherings had a common theme of elections and Modi could convincingly send this message through his oration and patriotic jingles. This time, too, PM Modi will look to use his popularity among expatriate Indians to boost support at home ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
This assumes significance, especially after the BJP lost the Karnataka election in May and is heading into a crucial season of polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram this year.
As PM Modi bids for reelection, the idea of taking the help of the diaspora for campaigning back home struck Modi during one of his overseas trips. During previous Congress governments, presidents, prime ministers and cabinet ministers interacted with select sections of the diaspora, which were never publicised.
Modi was the first leader to hold mass programmes in huge stadiums and auditoriums abroad. These large-scale interactions helped the diaspora connect instantly with the Prime Minister and also helped to establish Modi as a global leader of Hindus.
The BJP has in the past used Modi’s US visits to reach out to the domestic audience.
The optics of PM Modi being given full honours by President Biden are also likely to play well to the constituency back home. The BJP is hopeful of winning a third term in office and Modi’s popularity is credited in part to an image among voters that he has made India into a respected global player and is now courted by powerful western leaders.
Such events also provide a much needed “breather” to the government at the Centre and the BJP, which are facing criticism for increasing unemployment and inflation.
The visits are seen as the best opportunity to rebuild the PM’s image before the domestic constituency and help the BJP regain the trust of the audience once again especially with Lok Sabha elections just round the corner.
A BJP leader conceded that it is not easy to tackle inflation or create jobs immediately but such programmes help the people in realising that one needs a strong PM like Modi and a global leader.
Prime Minister Modi, too, has claimed that his foreign visits have strengthened India’s image in the international arena, and that the world today “stands with us”. He also maintained that India is getting oil and gas at cheaper rates as a result of negotiations done by his government, and, similarly, Indian nationals held in jails abroad have been freed.
Modi will look to use his popularity among expatriate Indians in the US to boost support at home ahead of the general elections next year. With Modi as its face and Home Minister Amit Shah as its strategist — it is no surprise that the BJP is convinced of another decisive victory in 2024.
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