The Howdy, Modi event on Sunday in Houston, Texas, turned out to be a show of disingenuous boasting by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, but with strong political undercurrents, it only ended up a win-win situation for both leaders. Modi’s distinct flair and public appeal stood out among the strong 50,000-odd crowd, the largest gathering ever for an elected foreign leader visiting the US other than the Pope.
It started with both Trump and Modi heaping lavish praise on each other and suddenly this appeared to be the dawn of a new-found friendship between the two. The Indian PM left no stone unturned to go all out against terrorism in its neighbourhood, while American President Donald Trump restricted himself to his usual pitch of radical Islamic terrorism. Taking potshots at Pakistan or terror was not the sole purpose of this showcase event and the agenda steadily tilted towards election campaigns from both ends.
Modi launched an unprecedented election campaign for Trump knowing well that his image had taken some beating among the Indo-Americans. He tweaked his favourite poll slogan in India and thundered ‘Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar’, taking political parties in the US and back home completely off-guard. This was an endorsement of Trump among a suspecting electorate. And it turned out to be a golden opportunity for Trump to woo a chunk of Indian-American voters who had voted for his Democratic opponent the last time around. He grabbed this chance with both hands promptly expressing his support to legal immigrants while drawing the line for those entering the country illegally. You never had a better friend as President Donald Trump, said he. This political outreach will be the biggest takeaway for Trump.
Interestingly, Modi himself went on a bigger campaign of his own recounting his achievements back home. In a marathon speech, he devoted all his energies in focusing on issues like scrapping of Article 370, Digital India vision, technological advancements, government schemes, entrepreneurship, banning single-use plastic and even open defecation ban. Modi knew that the world was watching and he didn’t let this chance to go abegging.
The bonhomie between both leaders was visible right through even as they marched triumphantly holding hands in a show of unity amid the roar of the crowd. But besides the poll pitches that were made, much of the three-hour extravaganza will remain hot air with merely an element of feel-good. Both leaders used the stage to highlight the achievements of the respective countries, and, of course, in the bargain also showcased the new Indo-US ties. The new history and chemistry which Modi claims to have been made is sheer frenzy since there is no announcement made by Trump to benefit India, other than extending the world-famous NBA outreach. There’s a wedge between India and US on several issues including visa rules, online commerce rules, data flow, interests on trades, etc. None of the issues has been addressed or touched upon. For India, in the end, there’s nothing to cheer about.
