Modi is adept at fostering friendship. He had developed a friendship with former US president Barack Obama also. But it is not clear to what extent that friendship helped promote the Indian interest. No Indian can forget the two friends sipping tea in the cozy corner of a garden. The Indian media had dubbed it a "bromance," evidence of the chemistry that aides on both sides have been at pains to point out for months. Incidentally the same Obama has assailed Trump, as deeply unfit for the office he occupies and argued that voting for his former No. 2, Joe Biden, was necessary to ensure the survival of American democracy. Trump similarly has in fact been rendering lip service to India but in reality he has not anything significant for India.

Nevertheless Trump intends to use Modi for his electoral gains. With Indian Americans dictating the character of the election and Kamala Harris appearing on the scene as a tough challenger, he has no way out but to rely on Modi. Interestingly Trump campaign has released its first video commercial that has short clips from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches and US President Donald Trump's historic address in Ahmedabad in what is an effort to woo the influential Indian-American voters .

It is for Modi to take a call and finalise his strategy whether to go all out for Trump or to maintain restraint. Though it is a tough proposition to predict the outcome of an election, the prevailing political situation does not appear to favour Trump. The Americans have turned hostile to him. They nurse the feeling that he has let down the country. Moreover the factors that favoured Trump in his victory earlier are absent this time. He has not succeeded in making available a better life for Americans. Instead, the Americans are suffering in a big way due to Covid 19 due to mismanagement by Trump.

No doubt American enjoys a better relation with India. And this is the most important task for Modi to preserve it. Modi is quite popular among the Indian Americans. He has to ensure what India would get in return for his support to Trump. If simply friendship would have mattered then by this time Trump would have offered a lot to India. But unfortunately even the trade deal is yet to acquire a better shape. Trump administration even sold oil at higher price to India.

The 107 second video titled "Four More Years", starts with the iconic footage of Modi and Trump walking hand in hand at the NRG Stadium in Houston during the Prime Minister's visit to the US last year wherein the leaders of the world's two largest democracies made a joint address before a strong crowd of Indian-Americans numbering more than 50,000.

Donald Trump is back with another trick to woo the Desis. His campaign believes that the Indian-Americans can play an important role in this election, especially in the battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, where the two rival campaigns would be battling for every vote. It has also created separate coalitions for the Indian-Americans and Sikhs. For the first time, a presidential campaign has created a coalition group for the Hindus. Creation of this makes it imperative that India must weigh its benefits. Tomorrow this very same Indians may question Modi if their aspirations remain unfulfilled.

Usually it is said "America loves India. America respects India. And America will always be a faithful and loyal friend to the Indian people," but this could not be quantified. This is subjective evaluation. The rival Biden Democratic campaign is coming out with ideas and commercials to woo Indian-Americans. Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez has addressed the community virtually, wherein he has acknowledged the key role that the Indian-Americans can play in the battleground States. On August 15, both Biden and Harris made a video address at an Indian-American event. The campaign has released a policy paper for Indian—Americans

Before this Modi had already sought the support of the Indian Americans for Trump. He has dropped the indication of batting for the Republican candidate. Last year after Modi endorsed Trumps candidature many diplomats had warned of the possible fall out of the move. Modi had hosted Trump at the Houston diaspora event where he even tweaked his own 2014 campaign slogan for the President and “Abkibaar Trump sarkar” slogan was raised from the stage. The official Twitter for the Trump campaign had mentioned “President Donald Trump received the endorsement of Indian Prime Minister Modi!”

The widespread happiness at Kamala Harris being selected as Joe Biden’s running mate should be taken seriously. The video-clip of Harris making dosa has gone viral; the fact that she used the word, ‘chitti’, in her speech at the Democrat Convention has caused digital upheavals; there is fierce debate about whether she projects her Tam-Brahm side. The Indian Americans rever the hero image of Modi, but at the same time they are enamoured at the prospect of having an Indian as the vice president of America. According to them Harris symbolises the Indianness.

Kamala is perceived to be a middle-of-the-road Democrat, only very slightly to the left side of that middle. Harris made the political connections and alliances that allowed her to take the leap to Senator in 2017 and then to a contender for the Democrat nomination in 2019. Her image of a strong administrator matters most amongst the Indians. The personal attack on her by Republicans appearing to be of the nature of character assassination has not gone well with Indians. While US politicians are adept at telling other countries how to run themselves, they seem at a loss in relation to Trump. The good news is that the Democrats are trying to do something assert and the voters are responding favourably to them.
(IPA Service)