Jubilee News Desk
Who will win the White House which has already started preparations to welcome the next US president? If the question is being circulating around the world India too has been looking forward to the November 3 US presidential elections.
Not just Indians in India but Indian in the US are also pondering over the topic. Indian-American voters are being courted by both the Republicans and the Democrats this election cycle. The community has historically leaned Democrat.
A blossoming friendship between US president Donald Trump and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi could be upturned for new. Or, India could potentially continue walking the tightrope with the US on issues of trade, terrorism, and immigration. If trump comes to power Indian hopes on its border with china will have a different outlook.
India has been at a border tension with china since June when its soldiers clashed and there have been several rounds of talks also to bring peace. But tension remains at the border and India looks forward to the US as its strategic partner against China.
For the financial year 2019-20, bilateral trade between the US and India stood at an astounding $88.75 billion, bringing the US as India’s top partner in trading. The answer for how does US elections influence the Indian economy lies in the policy and stance the candidates have propounded, making this election, even more significant.
Joe Biden has, several times expressed a soft stance on trade with China. So, if Biden is elected, some of the economic gains that the Indian markets are expecting, might not be there.
On the other hand, Trump is vocal against China and calls Coronavirus as the ‘Chinese Virus’. The unyielding stance he has taken against China to circumvent the disadvantages faced by the US manufacturers could be seen as a gimmick in the run up to the elections. The issue of ban on Chinese companies was a recent example.
Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate, Kamla Harris, has been very vocal against the Indian government on the Kashmir Issue. She chose to condemn the matter stating it as a ‘human right abuse inflicted by India’.
Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way the world looks at China. Trump called out China in no uncertain terms. There is a strong likelihood that the world will undergo fresh diplomatic and strategic permutation combinations based on their own national interests.
Also Read : Bihar election: RJD election manifesto
Also Read : Poland abortion ruling witnesses protests
When US President Donald Trump visited India in February 2020, he was riding high. The American economy looked healthy, unemployment was low.
Months later, everything looked different. The global COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in over 100,000 deaths in the United States alone, unemployment had skyrocketed to record levels, and protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd, an African-American man, by Minneapolis police had erupted in over 100 American cities.
The dramatic change in just three months illustrates the unpredictable nature of US politics at an unpredictable time for the world, including for India.