- Monday, April 29, 2024
Despite allegations that Modi’s India has seen an increase in intolerance endangering its secular fabric, expats still back his BJP over its initiatives to better the national security, digital finance and infrastructure.
By: Twinkle Roy
WHEN one talks about India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a mention about the Indian diaspora can’t be far since the country’s expats constitute a major support bloc for the Hindu nationalist outfit led by prime minister Narendra Modi.
There are many reasons why non-resident Indians (NRIs) support Modi and his party which also acknowledges contributions made by the overseas Indian community towards the country’s betterment. The day is observed every two years on January 9, commemorating the date when Mahatma Gandhi had returned to India from South Africa in 1915. The expats are feeling all the more inspired as India, the world’s largest democracy, inches towards its general elections starting next week.
Robin S is one such Indian expat based in Germany who is an ardent supporter of the BJP. Speaking to Deutsche Welle (DW) in Würzburg, he said if he could, he would vote for the BJP in the upcoming elections.
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“I like to follow what’s happening back home. I am Indian no matter where I live,” he was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
When asked about the reasons for which he supports the BJP, Robin cited the ruling party’s initiatives to better the country’s national security, digital finance, and infrastructure.
He also praised the BJP saying it did a commendable job in controlling inflation in India despite challenges such as Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis. However, Robin also told the news outlet that there is still some room for improvement.
While both the BJP and its opposition hope to get the blessings of the Indian communities living overseas as their top leaders — be it PM Modi or Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaging with the expats when on foreign tours, the NRIs cannot vote for the party of their choice from abroad under the Indian law. They must register first and be physically present in the country on the day of voting.
For many NRIs, it’s a difficult ask but that doesn’t deter them from doing their bit to mobilise support for the BJP. Many are seen willing to hold rallies, community meetings or religious activities such as praying for a rare third term for Modi, something only India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had accomplished in 1962.
Voting in the Indian elections requires the NRIs to travel all the way to India, which is quite the task for them, but this does not deter their enthusiasm from mobilising support in the name of India’s saffron party, BJP.
“Communities are currently mobilizing car rallies across France, London, and 10 cities in the US,” Vijay Chauthaiwale, the party’s chief coordinator for foreign affairs told DW.
“Approximately 250 cars paraded through London, bedecked with the Indian flag and images of prime minister Modi.”
He said some NRIs are even planning to visit their home country to take part in the campaign for the long election that will continue for a month and half. According to him, most of them still connect strongly with their motherland and feel that the BJP will do for the country which will be good for them in turn.
PM Modi himself is also a major reason why the NRIs get drawn towards the BJP. Sanjay Ruparelia, a professor at the University of Toronto told DW that Indians living in other countries often come together to listen to the prime minister’s speeches in person when he is on diplomatic trips.
“His international travels, meetings with foreign leaders, and grand gatherings serve to bolster his image as a formidable statesman within and outside India,” he was quoted as saying.
Modi is a frequent traveller and has made more than 70 foreign trips since becoming the prime minister in 2014. He has gone to the US eight times while to the United Arab Emirates, a country with which India’s relations have flourished during his time, seven times. The PM has appeared at eventful meetings with the Indian diaspora in countries such as the US, Australia and UAE that have been no less glittering than any stage show hosted by rockstars, making evident his tremendous popularity with the Indian diaspora.
Ruparelia also said that the Indian diaspora carries more than just a symbolic significance.
“Citizens of India who live in the diaspora can be a source of funding for parties,” the political analyst told DW.
Acknowledging that the influence of the diaspora has been marginal throughout most of India’s modern history, he said it changed after Modi came to power a decade ago with the BJP and the network of Hindu nationalist organisations — called the ‘Sangh Parivar’ — getting “political and financial backing from select diaspora factions”.
According to Ruparelia, “influential NRI members are fervent lobbyists for their host country’s representatives and governments”, the DW report added.
He also said that the diaspora members contribute billions to their motherland in remittances and a big part of that money acts as a box of alms for “cultural initiatives sponsored by political parties”.
Chauthaiwale, however, denies such claims saying while the BJP doesn’t organise funding campaigns for NRIs, it only accepts micro-donations made in individual capacities, the news outlet said.
“The biggest contributions for the BJP from the diaspora are time, energy and expertise,” he said.
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The ones not in favour both in India and in the west feel that the BJP is making space for its alleged bigotry and religious extremism, by making India non-tolerant and non-accommodating for the minorities, especially Muslims and that this is deeply impacting the country’s secular fabric.
Even the BJP’s young and educated supporters such as Robin are aware of the criticism the BJP faces in the west. “I’ve come to recognise that they’re not flawless,” he told DW. “Since the BJP, there has been a rise in extremist sentiments, both religious and right-wing. Our society right now is pretty polarised.”
He thinks “a lot is at stake” in this year’s election and is hopeful that his family, which also supports the BJP, will come out to vote.
Amrita Narlikar, another BJP supporter based in Germany’s Hamburg, feels India’s “vibrant democracy” is often scrutinised in the west and this puts the diaspora “on the defensive”.
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While NRIs cannot vote from their location abroad, the Election Commission of India has made the process much simpler for them, bringing the entire step of registration as a voter online on its official website. The NRIs can register themselves as eligible voters by filling the form 6A and then visit India during the time of elections and cast their ballots.
