UK could grant Narendra Modi a visa in May: Indian media
The u-turn comes at a time when Modi’s popularity in the state election is increasing and his potential to become BJP’s candidate for the role of prime minister is becoming real.
According to the reports in India, UK’s decision to grant Modi a visa is its strategy to appeal to the Gujarati Indian voters in the UK. If granted, he may visit UK in his political capacity.
Of the 1.5 million Indians in the UK, a little over half are Gujaratis.
63-year-old hardliner Modi was last in the UK in 2003 when the BJP-led coalition NDA was in power. But at that time he was not on a state visit. In 2005, he was denied a visa because of allegations of his complicity in the 2002 Gujarat violence between Hindus and Muslims.
While Cameron did not meet Modi on his three-day visit to India between February 18 and 20, he is likely to send a group of MPs and business delegation to Gujarat to boost UK’s trade ties with the state.
