Indian diaspora divided as Modi’s office lobbies US fans to influence vote

Amid India’s elections, hope, fear and anxiety grip the Indian diaspora in the US, reflecting divided sentiments about the country’s future under Modi’s potential return to power.

Washington, DC – The WhatsApp message arrives with a colourful infographic highlighting numerous achievements from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade-long rule. It includes a succinct comparison of statistics on the economy, education, healthcare, welfare schemes and infrastructure development between the period under Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the previous government of the now-in-opposition Congress party.

On every metric, these infographics show India doing better under Modi. It is the sort of message political parties have bombarded Indians with over the past several months as the country holds the world’s largest election, with nearly a billion voters.

But the recipients of this particular message are not Indian voters: They are members of the vast Indian diaspora in the United States, and beyond, who are being encouraged to forward these messages to relatives and friends back in India to amplify Modi’s campaign claims.

At the centre of this diaspora outreach campaign is Non Resident Indians For Mission 2024 (NRIM), a Florida-based company registered in July 2023.

The extent of its work and connections with Modi and his party became public only after the company was registered as a foreign agent by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in April 2024. FARA is a law that requires individuals and entities acting on behalf of foreign governments, political parties or other foreign principals to disclose their relationships and activities.

The company’s foreign principal in