India and the United States have not always been partners in adverse situations and the relationship has seen its sweet as well as sour periods during the course of history post 2nd world war. The current stream of a stabilized period in the US-India relations which started right at the advent of this century with Clinton’s visit to India still continues and the credit for maintaining the friendly status quo goes to leaders from both sides. The question though is, will the sweetness remain with the coming of a new president post the US elections which take place early next year?
To answer this question, let’s take a look at the most popular republican and democratic presidential aspirants and their perception towards India.
Well, for the democrats, it’s someone who is popular not only in US but in India as well. Yes, I am talking about Bill Clinton’s wife, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, who is the most likely presidential candidate from the Democratic Party. Mrs. Clinton has not only been a friendly acquaintance of India but has also supported the country during its standoffs with neighbor, Pakistan. This became pretty evident when she stood beside former Indian foreign minister S.M. Krishna and urged Pakistan to end terrorism on its soil. Her election as the next presidential candidate will also help in advancement of the important India-US nuclear deal which has always been backed by the Democratic Party.
When it comes to the Republican Party though, there is no single stand out candidate yet for the presidential elections next year, more so after Donald Trump’s rating backed down last month. This however does not impact India directly. We have in the past seen a mixed relationship between Indians and the republicans which kind of came on track after George Bush’s election as the president. The republicans though have always been critical of the H1B visa which they say hampers employment possibilities of Americans by outsourcing jobs to professionals from India and other countries. Certain republicans have also shown apprehensions about the unfair trade practices in India.
Thus what we can clearly see is that by large, there won’t be any direct but issue based impact on India and its relations with US post the 2016 US presidential elections.
To know more about US Elections 2016, watch the Youth Forum on Foreign Policy’s interview with State Senators from the United States of America here:
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abe2PP4c50I” width=”500″ height=”300″]
Image Credits: cnn.com
Brij Pahwa
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