At 'Howdy Modi!' event in US, Donald Trump may appear as ‘Surprise Guest’

New Delhi, Sep 15: 'Howdy, Modi!' - the event to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston on 22 September is likely to see the largest-ever audience in the US for any foreign leader other than the Pope. And the 'Surprise Guest' expected at the event is US President Donald Trump.

Several media reports have claimed that the US President is likely to fly down to Houston for the event, scheduled on September 22, before the two leaders attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Reports have also suggested that more than 60 US lawmakers, including first American Hindu Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, will attend the 'Howdy Modi!' mega diaspora event in Houston to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lawmakers, including Congressmen, Senate representatives and governors of various states, will attend the event organized by the Indian-American community at the sprawling NRG Stadium on September 22 that will witness a record audience of 50,000 people, Jiten Agrawal, CEO of Expedien, an IT services firm, told PTI in an exclusive interview.

The Prime Minister's next interaction with the Indian diaspora in US has been planned in sync with the regional flavour. And in the same spirit, the event has been titled 'Howdy Modi'.

The Houston event will be Modi's third major address to the Indian-American community after he became the prime minister in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May.

The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. Both the events were attended by more than 20,000 people.

Howdy is a Texan drawl used for "How do you do" and the word is being used to establish a regional connect to the event. Thousands of members of Indian community are expected to attend the event.

Those who wished to attend the event needed to register themselves through online platform, following which they would be allotted passes. Apart from Prime Minister Modi's interaction with the attendees, the event will also witness cultural programmes depicting India-America ties. The event is being organised by Texas India Forum.