US Elections underway: How does it matter to India?

The 59th US Presidential Election is under voting in the United States of America. This year’s election is witnessing a great voter turnout. As of now, 100 million votes have already been cast through mail ballots and in-person advanced voting.

How does US Presidential election matter to India?

The relationship with the United States of America (USA) is important and crucial for India more than any other bilateral relation. USA is economically, strategically and socially significant to India. So, the American Presidents make a real difference to bilateral ties in the fields of trade, immigration policies, and other strategic issues. Further, the mainstream political opinion favours stronger relations between the two countries. The Indian diaspora in the US is amongst the successful expatriate communities. Though, their political preferences differs but they favour a closer bonding between the two countries.

India-US Relation

The India-US relationship is the most important bilateral ties for India. It has grown and strengthen in the recent years in order to counter China. The relation have become multi-faceted that covers the cooperation in areas including trade, defence, security, education, science and technology, space technology, environment and health.

How the election’s outcome will impact India-China relation?

Both the contestant seeking President’s position in America,  Joe Biden and Donald Trump , recognises the grave threat the country face from China. However, they might response to it differently.  The Trump administration is willing to aggressively counter China while Biden might follow a policy of containment along with engagement. In that light, India’s China policy would need to be customised to the US’s response so as to coordinate with USA.