No ‘Trump sarkar’ endorsement this time, Modi avoids meet despite Trump’s claim

In a departure from his previous stance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a meeting with Donald Trump the miss despite the Republican presidential candidate claiming at a rally that the “fantastic” Modi would be coming to the US to meet him.

While Fox News had reported that Modi would join Trump’s rally at Long Island on Sunday, India had denied it. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had asserted that Modi had no “specific meeting at present” with the former US president.

No endorsement of “Trump sarkar” this time

In the past, Modi had advocated a “Trump sarkar (government)”. The two leaders apparently share a strong personal bond besides similar Right-wing political ideologies. Modi has openly praised Trump’s “America First” policy, in alignment with his “Make in India” campaign.

The “Howdy, Modi” rally in Houston in 2019 had garnered a lot of attention. Trump was the president then and running for his second term, and Modi had shouted “Abki baar, Trump sarkar”, echoing his own electoral slogan, in front of 50,000 Indian-Americans.

Trump snubbed?

The next year, Trump visited Ahmedabad, and the “Namaste Trump” event drew over 100,000 visitors. But this time, Modi chose not to meet either Trump or the Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.

This despite Trump claiming at a rally in Flint, Michigan, that Modi would be meeting him. “He’s [Modi] fantastic. I mean, fantastic, man. A lot of these leaders are fantastic,” Trump told his supporters.

During the three-day US visit, Modi attended the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, held bilateral discussions with world leaders, addressed the Indian diaspora in Long Island, met tech moguls, and addressed the UN Summit of the Future.