The election fever has gripped in some parts of India.
The Election Commission yesterday announced the dates for Haryana and Maharashtra state polls.
Both the states will vote in single phase on October 21 and the result will be announced on October 24.
The term of Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies end on November 9 and November 2, respectively.
Election fever also has gripped the United States of America, though it is scheduled next year. The candidates have begun lobbying for the polls.
So, why Donald Trump is courting at "Howdy, Modi" event? What is Trump's objective to share stage with Modi at the event, which will be participated by more than 50,000 people?
The answer is very simple - Trump wants to use the popularity of Modi among 2.23 million strong Indian Americans, who lean more towards the Democratic Party, than the Republican Party, which the current US President belongs to.
The Indian Americans perceive Democratic Party more friendly toward immigrants, civil rights and non-Western cultures. According to 2016 National Asian American Survey, fewer than seven per cent of Indian Americans in all likelihood had voted for Trump in the presidential election.
The Indian diaspora in the US also have been witness to the ugly episode of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in 1985. The Indian guru was arrested by Republican President Ronald Reagan for violating immigration laws.
Ever since he left US, Osho had been keeping ill and often claimed Reagan and his government officials had poisoned him while he was in jail.
By sharing the stage with Modi at "Howdy, Modi", Trump would like to woo the Indian Americans towards the Republican Party. If he succeeds, he is sure to the return to power for the second term because Indian diaspora is the fourth largest in US.
He, however, has been fairly successful in the previous election, after some Hindu outfits found their voice resonating with Trump's views on combating Islamic terrorism.
Hillary Clinton, the Democrat Presidential nominee, was ignored by this small diaspora, for she refused to notice the threat of radical Islam as she was funded by Islamic States including Saudi Arabia.
She also did not have any tacit stand on the discrimination and genocide faced by Hindus and non-Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh. But above all, she had been an enemy of India's biggest leader Narendra Modi.
Hillary had attempted to frame Modi for post-Godhra riots, though any reasonable person could see that these riots were provoked by a gang of Muslims who set fire to a train filled with dozens Hindu devotees who were returning from Ayodhya.
Hillary herself, as secretary of state, had initiated the "Get Modi Plan", an attempt to find any evidence she could to bring Modi to trial, in spite of every Indian agency had cleared Modi of any crimes.
This showed Hillary's obvious bias against Modi.
Apart from capitalizing on this front, Trump wants Modi on his side to keep at bay China's plans to set up more points of control around the Arabian Sea as it had done in South China Sea.
Also, he needs a trade win for his 2020 re-election campaign and for this to happen, the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is keen to, at least partially, restore India’s benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences, if India removes specific barriers.
As far as the visual of Modi sharing stage with Trump is concerned, it will help the Indian Prime Minister to dust off some of the international criticism over his move on abrogating Article 370 pertaining to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The event is expected to further boost the business relations between India and US. India is Houston's fourth-largest trading partner and its growing energy demand is expected to increase sale of American oil and gas.
It will also give India an opportunity to cut the trade deficit with US, which is a major issue for Trump.
No comments:
Post a Comment