New Delhi: The BJP has asked its members in the US not to use the party’s name in presidential elections there, stating that ties between India and the US enjoy bipartisan support in that country.
The unequivocal directive to the BJP-USA Overseas Friends from the party’s head of the Foreign Affairs Department, Vijay Chauthaiwale, is apparently aimed at dispelling any impression that India’s ruling party favors any candidate in US polls in the who faces President Donald Trump of the Republican Party. against Joe Biden of the Democratic Party.
Chauthaiwale told PTI: “Members of the OFBJP-USA can participate in the US election campaign and support any candidate or party in a personal capacity, but they have been instructed not to use the name BJP or OFBJP during the campaign.” .
He said India and the United States have “deep strategic relationships” that enjoy bipartisan support in the United States and enjoy “overwhelming public support” in India.
“We are confident that this association will grow more and more in the future,” he added.
It should be noted that the Republican campaign has used images of Trump’s participation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in large public gatherings such as ‘Howdy Modi’, which took place in September 2019 in Houston, and ‘Namaste Trump’, which was held in February this year. , to woo the Indian diaspora.
Chauthaiwale had sent the directive to the US section of the party on July 24, when both parties began to intensify their campaign for the November presidential election.
With Biden naming Kamala Harris, of Indian descent, as his party’s vice presidential candidate, the BJP leader said: “We are naturally happy that someone of Indian descent is contesting for the second-highest position in the United States.”
However, he added: “At the same time, we believe that any election is only an internal process of that country and the BJP has no role in the process.”
He also noted that OFBJP-USA has voluntarily registered as an official representative of the BJP under FARA and wondered if the US section of Congress will also register under US law.
Its registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) means that the OFBJP-USA can officially represent the BJP in that country.
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