The Bharatiya Janata Party has asked its members in the United States not to use the party’s name in the presidential election campaign, PTI reported on Thursday. Vijay Chauthaiwale, who is in charge of the party’s foreign affairs department, told the members of the Overseas Friends of BJP that they can “participate in US election campaign and support any candidate or a party in their personal capacity”.
“The OFBJP-USA members can participate in the US election campaign and support any candidate or a party in their personal capacity but they have been instructed not to use BJP or OFBJP name during the campaign,” Chauthaiwale told PTI. The news agency said the decision has been made to ensure that the BJP is not seen supporting any particular candidate during the elections.
Chauthaiwale said India and the United States have “deep strategic relations” which have bipartisan political support in America and “overwhelming public support” in India. “We are confident that this partnership will grow from strength to strength in future too,” he added.
The US presidential elections are scheduled for November 3, with results on the same day.
The BJP’s directive comes in the wake of a Donald Trump campaign video titled “Four More Years” which has visuals from events attended by the US president during his India trip earlier this year. The video aims at wooing the Indian-American voters. Earlier this month, Trump had called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “great friend” and expressed confidence that Indian-Americans would vote for him.
Chauthaiwale added that he was happy that Indian-origin Kamala Harris had been selected as the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee. “At the same time, we believe that any election is solely a domestic process of that country and BJP has no role whatsoever in the process,” he added.
The Overseas Friends of BJP has also registered as a foreign principal of an organisation in the United States under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act, The Hindu reported on Thursday. The registration was done on August 27.
The FARA requires “agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a political or quasi political capacity [to] disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related finances”. Chauthaiwale confirmed the registration, saying that the decision to register under FARA was made after the Overseas Friends of BJP consulted its lawyers in the United States.
The Overseas Friends of BJP will now have to declare any meetings with US legislators, organisation of events and funding from US groups. It will also not be able to use the help of its parent party during the elections, as this would amount to foreign interference in the United States’ internal affairs.
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