WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– The victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in India, with Narendra Modi of Gujarat set to become that country’s next prime minister, is being greeted with interest and curiosity in the United States.
The White House said that President Barack Obama called Modi on Friday, May 16, to congratulate him on his party’s success in India’s historic election, in which the Congress Party was defeated after decades in power.
“The President noted he looks forward to working closely with Mr. Modi to fulfill the extraordinary promise of the U.S.-India strategic partnership, and they agreed to continue expanding and deepening the wide-ranging cooperation between our two democracies,”a White House statement said. “The President invited Narendra Modi to visit Washington at a mutually agreeable time to further strengthen our bilateral relationship.”
Meanwhile, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) also issued congratulations to Modi, noting that “for decades, AJC has engaged successive Indian governments, regardless of party identity, on matters of common interest and concern.”
“We look forward to working with Mr. Modi and the new government to further strengthen and deepen India’s extensive relations with the United States and Israel,” said Shira Loewenberg, Director of AJC’s Asia Pacific Institute (API). “BJP has long been a friend to Israel and the Jewish people.”
An API delegation met with Modi in 2012, when he served as chief minister of Gujarat. More recently, in March, an API delegation led by AJC President Stanley Bergman, met with officials of the Congress-led government and with BJP officials, including party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad.
More than 800 million eligible voters participated in the five-week election process. The BJP secured 283 seats and its allies gained another 54, bringing the NDA coalition’s total to 337. A majority of 272 seats out of a total of 543 seats in India’s lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, is required by a party or a coalition to form a government.
AJC has worked closely with India’s vibrant Jewish community, numbering some 4,500, including 150 from Mr. Modi’s home state of Gujarat. In addition, AJC’s longstanding engagement with India – featuring periodic consultations in New Delhi and with Indian diplomats abroad, exchange programs, special events with Indian officials and analysts organized by AJC offices across the United States, and humanitarian efforts – also has involved close cooperation with the Indian American community.
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Preceding provided by the White House and the American Jewish Committee