Lok Sabha elections: BJP supporters hold rallies in America

Washington, Apr 5: Supporters of the BJP in the US have organised a number of rallies and events in several American cities ahead of the general election in India. While a group of Indian-Americans organised "Chowkidar March" in New Jersey, NRIs4Modi group organised a car rally in a Maryland suburb of Washington DC this week.

"There is so much enthusiasm among the NRIs to bring back the Modi government," said Krishna Reddy, president of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) after participating in a "Chowkidar March" in the Indian-American dominated areas of New Jersey.

People from different backgrounds joined the march with placards written in multiple languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannnada and Malayalam, he said. Some of the meetings were addressed by senior BJP leaders over phone or video conferencing. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya addressed a gathering of 500 NRIs at 'NaMo Sangam' meeting in San Francisco. Sunil Deodhar addressed a similar meeting in Chicago.

A "Chai Pe Charcha" meeting attracted more than 200 NRIs from New Jersey. Other "Chai Pe Charcha" meetings were held in Detroit, Pittsburg, Boston, Columbus, Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

'Sikhs of America' president, Kanwal Singh Soni, who organised a car rally in Maryland, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the global Sikh community in many ways and fulfilling all their demands and requests during the last five years.

According to India's Election Commission, the Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 11 and polling would be held over seven phases through May 19, followed by counting of votes on May 23.

PTI