Ashish Kumar Sen
Asian Age
September 4, 1999
Title: Overseas Friends boost BJP by email blitz Author: Ashish Kumar Sen Publication: Asian Age Date: September 4, 1999 San Francisco: Various groups affiliated to the BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been busy drumming up support for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as India prepares to go to the polls this weekend. Dr Dinesh Agarwal, the Pennsylvania-based president of the Overseas Friends of the BJP, told The Asian Age in an telephonic interview that his organisation has had its hands full pitching support for the BJP over the past couple of months. Several overseas organisations working in tandem with the Sangh Parivar have launched an "email offensive" throughout the world and the United States, in particular. Some of the main pleas in these messages are requests for larger participation in online surveys on the fortunes of Indian political parties in the coming polls. "We hope to generate a pro-BJP flavour; besides our support does go a long way to boost the morale of the party in India," Dr Agarwal says, adding that he is pleased "opinion polls so far have shown the BJP and its allies stand to gain in the general elections." The Overseas Friends of the BJP has been demanding voting rights for Indians living in the United States. At present NRIs are not allowed to cast their vote from the US and have to go back to do so. "Even when they do go back they can only vote if their names are on the voting list in their village or city. What does one do if they have been away from India for three years? A family member has to keep ensuring that the name is still on the rolls and if the period of absentia is even longer the names are struck off," says Dr Agarwal. Mr Vijay Pallod, another US-based Indian actively involved in the Sangh Parivar's activities, echoes Dr Agarwal's views when he laments the fact that overseas Indians are not given adequate rights during the elections and suggests that a system of postal ballot be considered by the government, regardless of who is heading it. "Ideally we need an open constituency and there must be some system for NRIs to go to the Indian embassy and cast their vote, or there should be a system of postal ballot," feels Dr Agarwal. Sources say there are at least one million Indians living in North America - the US and Canada - and anywhere between one to two million Indians living in Europe. Half of these NRIs are within the voting age. "We have been working on several projects. Most of our work has been through our website and radio," Dr Agarwal says. In fact the official website of the BJP was launched and operated by the US-based Overseas Friends of the BJP two years ago. "We did it (started the website) as our personal contribution to the party and had been managing the site and posting information about the party and its activities. But last year Mr L.K. Advani asked us to hand over the site so that the party headquarters could monitor information and provide additional data which we did not have access to," Dr Agarwal says. Overseas Friends of the BJP has also been sponsoring an hour-long radio programme which is aired daily on RBC Radio in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. "For the past one and a half months the radio show was dominated by Kargil and the war in Kashmir, but since then we have been preparing the ground for the elections," Dr Agarwal says. Talk shows and dial-in question and answer sessions feature prominently on the hour-long show, which, Dr Agarwal says has been well accepted by the largely "pro-BJP NRI community in America." Mr Vijay Pallod feels, however, that not enough work has been done to generate support for the BJP. "Usually we are very active when it comes to the election, but this year we have had our hands tied with lots of other events and controversies that have repeatedly dogged the Hindu community," he says. "Initially there were lots of reports on the Congress in the American media. A few bad things were written about the BJP, but since the war in Kargil and the manner in which Vajpayeeji handled the situation, our party has been treated very fairly by the media," Mr Pallod feels. But other groups have been doing their bit to organise seminars and meetings to encourage supporters to go to India and participate in the campaign. Several batches of NRIs have already left for India to help the BJP in its election campaign. While maintaining that it is "illegal" for groups to collect funds for political parties, Dr Agarwal says NRIs, who still have their Indian passports, can and do freely write out cheques for the party in India. "That is their own personal contribution. We have nothing to do with gathering funds," he says. "Most of the NRIs are very pro-BJP and have been circulating our appeal among the Indian community as well as local Americans in order to build up the party," he says, adding he is optimistic of a victory for the BJP in the polls.
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