Modi effect: NRIs postpone holiday to volunteer for BJP poll campaign

It remains to be seen exactly what impact the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s will have on Indian voters, but he definitely seems to have worked some magic on the diaspora. According to an Economic Times report, around 10,000 visiting NRIs will be volunteering for Modi’s 2014 election campaign. A large number of Indians living in the US, UK, Europe and Southeast Asian countries have decided to postpone their Diwali or winter holidays to be on Modi duty. In fact, some of them have decided to take a sabbatical from work for the BJP poll campaign. [caption id=“attachment_1180071” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  A Modi fan seen at his Delhi rally. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost[/caption] An Indian American businessman who heads Overseas Friends of BJP in the US, told ET that nearly 5,000 Indian Americans will fly down to India before next year’s elections. “Many of us are postponing our annual December visits to be available to campaign for Mr Modi,” said Amit Tiwari, general secretary of the Overseas Friends of BJP for the UK and Europe. But why are NRIs mooting for Modi, that too by directly participating in the poll campaign? ‘Change’ has been on the minds of people for quite some time now, and the diaspora is no different. In Modi, NRIs see an opportunity to drive change. The fact that Modi is perceived to be corporate-friendly - and most migrant Indians have benefited from their association with Corporate America - probably makes him more appealing. Whether or not Modi wins the Lok Sabha elections is yet to be seen, but the man has already won the hearts of NRIs. Read the Economic Times report here.