New Delhi: Ahead of the US presidential election slated to be held in November, experts are of the opinion that though there might be a few issues where Republicans and Democrats have a divided policy, the trajectory of the Indo-American strategic relationship will only move upward irrespective of who comes to power.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, former ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar said, "As far as US-India strategic partnership is concerned, it exists irrespective of which party has been in power or had occupied the White House. For the last 20 years, we have seen that the trajectory has been upward, right from the time of Bill Clinton, when a Democrat was in power till 2001; followed by eight years of George Bush who was a Republican; eight years of Barack Obama, a Democrat; and now four years of Donald Trump who is a Republican. Whether it is Republican or Democrats, the trajectory of relationship has been upward."
Over the years, the India-US relations have developed into a "global strategic partnership" based on shared democratic values and increasing convergence of interests on bilateral, global and regional issues.
Analysts also say the US presidential elections are crucial for the relationship between the two nations, which is expected to strengthen further. They are of the opinion that India is set to enjoy a golden period ahead, whether it is Donald Trump or Joe Biden coming into power.
Rahul Bhonsle, a Think Tank expert said, "The continued thrust to improve India-US relation is going to continue and keep projecting further. There will be some concerns of course because Joe Biden has got strong views on the events that are happening in India, for instance, the Kashmir issue. That could be the only repercussion, but overall strategic trajectory is not going to be affected. But what will be affected is the political equations which the democrats may have if Joe Biden comes to power."
"The Republican and Democratic Party in the United States have a strong division of political views and takes. For instance, they have got divided policy on Russia and China also but as far as India is concerned, there is no division and that is where the strength lies in the future," Bhonsle pointed out.
American diplomacy, its foreign relations and the global impact as a result of the nation furthering its political and economic interests have always been discussion points ahead of Presidential elections, but India was never considered a subject worth discussing. It never became a subject of public interest and political focus, as it was not seen as a factor which could influence American politics and economy. However, the case is not the same this time.
India is predominantly the important factor which would be wooed openly by both the battling forces. Thanks to the diplomacy pursued for long years.
As far as the impact of Presidential polls on the Indo-US relation is concerned, the trajectory will continue upward because there are very strong reasons for the two countries to have even stronger bilateral relations as it moves forward.
There is not only a convergence of values in terms of democracies of both the countries, rule of law, economies, etc, but there is also a huge convergence of interests in terms of trade or technology. Both the countries are working on 60-70 clusters ranging from energy, agriculture, Education, Sajjanhar said.
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"Secondly, in terms of strategic imperatives, we have seen the rise of China, how the United States has pitched itself against it and India on the other hand has its own issues with China. So discussions are going on to convert the 'quad' into security architecture," he pointed out.
On the other hand, highlighting the work done by the Trump administration, he said, "Trump has been able to stop the coalition support fund going out to Pakistan and helped India to designate Masood Azhar as a terrorist. The strong stand that he has taken, I don't think that any other US President has taken so far."
Pertinently, in the run-up to the elections, Joe Biden went on to recollect his contributions to the growing Indo-US partnership during his days of vice presidency in the Obama regime, and felt he would not be new to India and would build upon further on his past beliefs.
However, what came as a turning point in the history of US presidential election is the selection of Indian-origin Senator Kamla Harris, as Biden's running mate in the US polls.
Bhonsle strongly highlighted that the vote of Indian-Americans is going to be a crucial factor for Biden and Kamala Harris that would have a large impact and if Democrats come to power, it will be a good thing for the Indian voice in the American system that gets buried in many corners.
"The way Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are playing their cards, reasonably in my view, the same proportion of 60-70% of Indian-Americans votes and support will go to the Democrats," Sajjanhar opined.
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When asked about how Biden's presidency would play out for India, the diplomat said that the Indo-US relation will continue in upper trajectory in terms of macro issues but there might be two-three aspects to watch out for.
"In terms of internal issues in India like Article 370 or CAA, Trump administration has shown confidence in India that it will take care of it. Now, we could expect intrusiveness if Joe Biden comes into power because democrats have their own left-wingers. They will definitely try to raise these issues," he said.
The presidential candidate Joe Biden had earlier reiterated that his administration will place a high priority on continuing to strengthen the India-US relationship asserting that no common global challenge can be solved without the two countries working as responsible partners.
On the other hand, Trump is leaving no stone unturned to woo millions of Indian-Americans voters ahead of the most crucial presidential poll this year.
