Overseas Indians wield growing political might

An elaborate network, often with its political agenda hidden, has been set up to co-opt the country's diaspora in supporting Modi's re-election campaign in 2019.

Published Tue, Nov 24, 2015 · 09:50 PM

ON NOV 13 at London's storied Wembley Stadium, globalisation met traditional politics from another continent. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, making a state visit to the UK, received a warm public reception and a song-and-dance extravaganza. The gathering of some 60,000 British Indians selected through community organisations had a serious purpose - to build a database of overseas Indians to help re-elect Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019.

The party's 2014 landslide win was supported by many non-resident Indians. Building on that success, BJP's central office has focused on bolstering its Overseas Friends of B…

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