As Modi leaves for US, his fans from Gujarat follow

C R Patil, the MP from Navsari, Thakkarbapa Nagar (Ahmedabad district) MLA Vallabh Kakadia and Gujarat tourism corporation’s chairman Kamlesh Patel  have planned trips with their families to be in New York on  September 28. Modi will speak to a likely crowd of 20,000 people  of the Indian diaspora at the venue. Tickets for the event, organised by the Indian American Community Foundation, were sold out earlier this month.

The BJP leaders going from Gujarat had relatives and friends buy tickets for them. While some wish to ensure they are part of this “historic event”, others also plan to take lessons in event management by monitoring the show that has been touted as one of the great welcomes given to any foreign leader in the US.

“There is a social event at my son’s home in the US and I am here with my entire family. But we will be there at Madison Square on September 28,” Kamlesh Patel told The Indian Express from the US.

The former president of Southern Gujarat chamber and BJP leader, Paresh Patel, and another BJP leader Mukesh Desai too have been camping in the US. Ahmedabad Mahila Morcha president Geetaben Patel has also combined her social visit to the US accordingly.

MLA Vallabh Kakadia’s son, Ramesh, said, “We have a few relatives in the US and my parents visit them every two or three years. I have three brothers and four sisters living in Philadelphia. Most of them will take the two-hour drive to New York to be at Madison Square.”

He said that Modi is perhaps more popular among the Gujarati diaspora in the US than he is in India. Paresh Patel said: “We are curious to see how the event is organised. This is a study tour.” BJP MP Patil, who will be visiting New York , Washington DC and Los Angeles, also plays down the political part of his visit. “I am going to the US with my wife for a vacation, not specially to attend Narendra Modi’s event.”

Deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin, who recently returned from the US, said, “The networking of the Indian community in the US is excellent and they have also been co-coordinating with leaders back in India. They say that all these years, they saw Modi only via video link. This is their first chance to see him live.”