Ritu Jha-
Sitting 10,000 miles away in the US, the members of the Overseas Friends of BJP-USA (OFBJP) are rejoicing over the landslide victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. They say the country needed a man with discipline and a leader who could resolve the Kashmir issue.
According to Election Commission figures, the BJP won 303 seats and the Indian National Congress won 52.
The report shows that the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance), a coalition of right-wing political parties in India, won 352 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats where polling took place in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May. The Congress-led alliance won 87.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to a historic victory in the Lok Sabha elections with the party securing more seats than it won in 2014.
Chandru Bhambhra, who heads the OFBJP Northern California chapter, told indica that Modi is the leader India needs.
“Look at him, he has worked so hard,” said Bhambhra, whose team in the US started a local campaign in California nine months ago to support BJP overseas.
“We have been working for the past nine months, but the main work started five months ago, and every day we’ve worked three hours to keep the momentum going through WhatsApp and phone banking,” he said, adding, “However, two months ago we increased the phone banking, and the last call was made to Gurdaspur for Sunny Doel and Indore for Shankar Lalwani.” “Lalwani is Sindhi,” he said with a smile, “The only Sindhi candidate the BJP hosted.”
When indica asked what he expected from PM Modi, and the building of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Bhambhra said Modi had more than 300 schemes in the first term, and he wasn’t able to finish them all. So, he might work on those. But the biggest issue is Kashmir, which is bigger than the Ram Mandir, and to resolve Article 370.
He said that Article 370 of the Indian constitution gives autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and limits Parliament’s power to make laws concerning the state.
“I think only Modi can resolve the Kashmir issue,” said Bhambhra with confidence. “And it became clear after the Pulwama attack. This [Kashmir] issue cannot be resolved just by talks.”
Bhambhra said he is planning big victory celebrations next weekend along with BJP-USA (OFBJP) in 20 US cities, including New York, Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco .
OFBJP-USA President Krishna Reddy Anugula told IANS on Thursday that more than 1,000 volunteers with his organization participated in phone bank call-a-thons that made more than 1 million calls to people in India asking them to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
During the four months before the elections, the OFBJP also held yagnas, “Chowkidar Marches” and other programs to encourage Indian citizens here to support Modi and to boost the party’s image in India.
In California, party supporters hosted a car rally, said Bhambhra.
OFBJP in a statement said: “Overseas Friends of BJP-USA congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party President Amit Shah, BJP leaders, and the millions of volunteers for OFBJP and NRIs4Modi across the globe who toiled hard for this stupendous victory.”
Meanwhile, looking ahead to BJP’s second term, US President Donald Trump along with several elected officials congratulated Prime Minister Modi.
President Trump in a tweet said: “Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP party on their big election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!”
Congratulating Modi on his historic victory, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat representing Illinois 8th Congressional District, tweeted: “Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his re-election— it was truly an inspiration to see so many Indians exercise their democratic rights, and I look forward to working with PM Modi and the Indian government to strengthen the US-India partnership.”
Congressman Ami Bera, a Democrat representing California’s 7th district, also tweeted congratulations: “Great job to the people of #India on their historic election. Never before have so many voted in a single democratic election. Congratulations to PM Modi for his win and I look forward to working with his government to strengthen the ties between our two great nations.”
The US representative of California’s 17th district, Congressman Ro Khanna, said: “One lesson from Modi’s win is that dynastic, establishment candidates are weak. Democrats need to make sure that our candidate against Trump can connect with people’s frustration and offer a positive vision for change.”
