India opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in US in bid to court diaspora

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Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi arrived in Dallas Sunday to kick-off a three-day tour of the US where he will hold “meaningful discussions and insightful conversations” designed to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Gandhi will meet with community leaders, academics, and students at the University of Texas before traveling to Washington, DC.

His trip is widely considered an opportunity to “reset” the conversation on his Indian National Congress party among the powerful Indian-American diaspora community, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP party have largely won over. Meanwhile, US politicians are perhaps just as interested in building ties with Indian leaders, since they could help sway a sizable US voting block; in 2019, former US President Donald Trump even attended rallies for Modi as part of his (unsuccessful) reelection bid.

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As a member of the powerful Gandhi political dynasty — three of his relatives have served as prime minister — Rahul Gandhi’s previous visits to the US have been met with “public curiosity and even ridicule,” the Asia Sentinel Subtack wrote, with domestic opponents framing his overseas criticism of Modi’s government as unpatriotic.

But since reclaiming the opposition leader role in June, Gandhi “is proving to be a far more formidable opponent than expected,” the Sentinel wrote.

Gandhi and other Indian leaders believe that “American influence can ease the path to power,” wrote a columnist for The Sunday Guardian, given the diaspora is a big source of political donation.