The question whether India should favour a particular candidate/party in US Presidential elections or not has been going on for quite a while. It started with Modi’s visit to Houston last year, when in his event “Howdy Modi”, the PM in a way endorsed Donald Trump saying “Abki baar Trump sarkar”.
The thread of this endorsement continued this year too with “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad last week, where PM Modi provided Trump a platform too woo his potential Indian American voters. It’s quite clear that the incumbent President wants to harp upon Modi’s popularity among Indian diaspora, so that he could snatch a chunk of Indian American votes from the Democratic side.
Here, it is worth noting that Trump and Netanyahu, too, have been playing the same card from quite some time. The controversial decisions of recognizing Jerasulam as capital and Israel’s claim over Golan Heights have been quite clearly aimed at wooing the American Jews, who have a siezable share in the electorate. Netanyahu, too, tried to gain popularity owing to the support of Trump. He, however, fell short of votes in two consecutive elections.
This phenomenon is not just limited to India, US or Israel, rather it has been going on for quite some time in the global politics, be it Brazil or UK or Srilanka. Two reasons can broadly be associated with this phenomenon. First, the immediate electorate benefits, which the leaders want to cash upon by using the popularity and legitimacy of any foreign leader. Second, the emerging global alliance of the “right wing” as well as to some extent of the “left wing”.
The global politics hasn’t been such ideologically divided since the end of cold war. Leaders are openly backing parties in foreign elections. It all started in 2016, when a lot of liberal leaders from continental Europe openly endorsed Hillary Clinton. They were quite hostile to Donald Trump, least expecting him to win.
In 2018, yet again they were quite openly speaking against Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil elections.
The antipathy of both Trump and Bolsonaro post their victory towards liberal European politicians is quite visible, as we frequently here spats between them and say Emmanuel Macron or Angela Merkel.
The global right leaders along with other “strongman” across the world on the other side seem to be backing back one other, as already discussed above.
Now coming back home in India, not only is Modi endorsing Trump rather BJP and RSS people have been continously at loggerheads with liberal leaders of Europe and America. It is said that there was a campaign against Labour Party by some sections of Indian Right in last December elections. This was largely Ideologically driven, as the Right was miffed by Labour criticism on the issue of Article 370. Also they found in Boris Johnson, a comrade much like Modi. It is worth noting here that Donald Trump openly back Boris Johnson here.
The recent spat was between Democratic Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and BJP leader BL Santosh , when the latter in a reply to Sanders tweet on Delhi Riots said, “How much ever neutral we wish to be you compel us to play a role in Presidential elections .Sorry to say so…But you are compelling us”. He, however, later deleted the tweet. In the meantime it was taken notice by wide sections of media.
While BJP has been quite hostile to the Democrats in the recent past is very much evident ; owing to the unpopular stand taken by the Far Left lobby of Democrats on Article 370 and CAA, threatening its leader to “play a role” in their democratic elections is certainly not a wise idea. It further takes a precarious turn, in the backdrop of another Russian attempt to influence US elections.
Given such bad blood between Indian Right and American Left, if in case someone like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren win the Presidential election, then I fear our relations won’t be much smooth. Although it’s true that personal relational are not everything which drive the foreign relations but still we have been witnessing frictional relationship between Europe on one side and Trump or Bolsonaro on the other. The similar thing may get repeated in case of India, if Sanders or Warren win.
We need not go too far to understand the implications of interfering or supporting a party in foreign elections. Our own experiences in Nepal, Bangladesh and Srilanka should be enough, where we have burnt our hands time and again.