The ardent BJP Indian-American supporters popularly known as the U.S. chapter of the overseas friends of the BJP, steadfast to get Modi re-elected in 2019, are lobbying for the BJP by campaigning over phone calls and through social media barnstorm, reports Reuters.
Since many of them cannot travel to India they are channelling their support through phone and social media campaigns to people in India.
Confident that this kind of campaign will definitely have an impact on millions of voters in India, the U.S. chapter of the Overseas Friends of the BJP, which has over 4000 members, resolute to bring back Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a second term in next year’s general election, due to be held by May, are resorting to this innovative mode of campaigning.
One of the members, named Madhu Bellam (47), an IT consultant by profession, living in the suburbs of America, convinced that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will unlock India’s economic potential, has been trying to establish contact with over 1500 Indian voters in his hometown, Hyderabad, trying to convince them to vote for BJP in the upcoming general elections.
Bellam and other overseas BJP supporters while speaking to people in India over the phone, whose numbers were provided to him by the party, explains to them what BJP has accomplished over the years and admire Modi’s policies, including his flagship “Make in India” plan and try to convince the Indian voters by saying, “I am requesting you to vote for BJP and spread the word in the constituency.”
Vijay Chauthaiwale, the head of the BJP’s foreign affairs cell, said Modi supporters in 20 countries will be helping out in the campaign. Besides the United States, these include Britain, Canada, Australia and parts of Africa, where there are large Indian communities.
But Vijay asserted that the Indian-Americans, who number around four million, have perhaps the most influence as they are generally admired by the Indians.
The Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP) is a support system of the BJP in western countries. Although it initially started in the USA and the UK, it claims to have branches in over 40 countries now. The NRI community which has been a major fundraiser for BJP’s political campaigns have always proclaimed that the “large section of Indian Diaspora across the globe has been traditionally a big supporter and sympathiser of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).”
The Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) consider the Indian Prime Minister as a flag-bearer of development and as a mascot of anti-corruption. Most of them admit that though they have no interest in the politics of BJP they appreciate the Prime Minister’s efforts in bringing “Acche Din”.