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Indians in Uganda are drumming up support for India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is the best to champion Africa-India mutual interest.

The Modi supporters have listed several instances of mutual interest including military co-operation, technology transfer and education, among others.

Hundreds of Indians, donning orange T-shirts, having the minister's portrait inscribed with the words: 'Overseas friends of BJP', held a rally in support of Modi today, April 22, 2024, at Lugogo in Kampala.  

Mehta Paresh, the BJP president in Uganda (holding a microphone) rallying Indians in Uganda to vote for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister at Lugogo in Kampala. (Photo by Michael Odeng)

They chanted ‘AB KI BAAR 400 PAAR, MODI HE TO MUNKIN HE, VOTE FOR BJP AND BHARAT MATA KI JAY, as they held placards showing support for Modi.

Modi seeks re-election as Indian Prime Minister for the third time under his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party.

Nearly a billion Indians are voting to elect a new government in a six-week-long parliamentary polls, which started on April 19, 2024, the largest democratic exercise in the world.

Overseas friends of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party, holding a rally in which they have vowed to vote for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister at Lugogo in Kampala. (Photo by Michael Odeng)

“BJP has had good governance in India. There is also a strong relation between Uganda and India,” BJP president in Uganda Mehta Paresh said. He added that the elections will stop on June 1, 2024.

Paresh predicts that Modi will win over 400 of the 543 seats in Parliament. He urged Indians in Uganda to vote for Modi.

Indian Association Uganda secretary Kumar Sasi Nair said when Modi is re-elected Prime Minister, the relationship India has with the African countries will be strengthened.

(L-R) Kumar Sasi Nair, the Secretary of the India Association Uganda, Kumar Amitesh and Mehta Paresh, the BJP president in Uganda, chatting after rallying votes for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister at Lugogo in Kampala. (Photo by Michael Odeng)

“His re-election will be more beneficial to the African continent because no prime minister has worked with African countries so closely like Modi. We want a prime minister who will support the African continent including Uganda,” he said.

Nair said the cordial relationship between Uganda and India will improve in military co-operation, education sector and that more Ugandans are being sent to India for surgery, because of Modi’s reign.

India-Uganda relationship

India and Uganda share historical relations spanning over a century. Indians first came to Uganda at the beginning of the 20th century. India's freedom struggle inspired the early Ugandan activists to fight colonisation and eventually Uganda achieved freedom in 1962.

The bilateral ties between the two countries have developed into a strong relationship that encompasses all industries, facilitating collaboration and building mutual understanding.

Relations between India and Uganda, over the years, have acquired a greater depth and breadth in areas such as political, defence, economic, commercial, cultural, education, health and tourism.