More than 1,000 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), especially from the US, the UK and Canada, have descended in Gujarat to back BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Most of them are Gujarat natives, who have now actively joined campaign for the Gujarat Chief Minister in Vadodara and Varanasi, from where Modi is contesting lok Sabha elections.
Some of these NRIs were very instrumental in raising funds for Barack Obama in the 2012 US presidential elections. Apart from Vadodara, NRIs are campaigning in Charotar region consisting Anand and Kheda districts in Central Gujarat and Bardoli in South Gujarat, which also fall on the State’s nearly 500 km-long tribal belt. Co-incidentally, they are active in three Congress-dominated lok Sabha seats — Anand, Kheda and Bardoli — where sitting Congress MPs, Bharatsinh Solanki, Dinsha Patel and Tushar Chaudhary, are also Union Ministers.
“Though we (NRIs) do not have any voting rights, we are still encouraging people to exercise their franchise and vote for the best candidate. We are also expecting voting rights which can only happen if Narendrabhai comes at the Centre,” says Jagdish Vyas, a motel owner in Florida. Vyas is campaigning for the BJP and especially for Modi from last one month. The US Consulate General has recently appointed him as Gujarat warden. His job as a warden is to facilitate the US citizens who intend to visit Gujarat.
Another US resident, Danny Patel, is campaigning in Bardoli and adjoining tribal areas along with his group of nearly 100 NRIs. Patel, who lives in Georgia, is also the president of Indian Motel Owners’ Association in the United States of America (USA). Texas-based Ramesh Shah, who belongs to Saurashtra region, is highly active in Vadodara and parts of Saurashtra. He also plans to visit Varanasi soon. Shah’s daughter Sonal was handpicked by the US president Barack Obama in his 15-member advisory group.
A group, Global Indians for Bharat Vikas, led by Chicago-based Bharat Barai is also promoting the campaign — Modi for PM. It had raised funds for Obama during the last elections in the US. Nearly 650 members of Barai’s group have become active in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. “Many NRIs in America want Modi to hold India’s top post. Hence, we have pledged to undertake this campaign,” he adds.
Mitesh Patel, a Toronto-based NRI has camped in Vadodara to campaign for Modi in Charotar and Vadodara areas. Similarly, london-based businessman Manoj ladva, is travelling extensively across the country to support Modi.