Grand reception awaits PM Narendra Modi in Shanghai; BJP reaches out to NRIs & Indians in China to ensure huge turnout

NEW DELHI:After his performance at Madison Square Garden in New York, Allphones Arena in Sydney and recently in Toronto, Shanghai is the next stop for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP is coordinating with the Indian community in China to organise a “grand reception” for Modi in Shanghai on May 16. They expect a gathering of 10,000 people or more.

The event will be the grand finale for Modi’s China visit from May 14 to 16. He will head for South Korea from there. The Prime Minister will start his three-nation tour with Mongolia on May 12. BJP leader Ram Madhav was in China earlier this week and is believed to have finalised details of the event, which is going to be like “nothing seen in China” before. The party is in the process of ensuring a huge turnout at the event. Vijay Chauthaiwale, in-charge of party’s foreign affairs cell and overseas friends of BJP, is expected to visit Hong Kong over the weekend to coordinate with the huge Indian community there.

“We are reaching out to the burgeoning Indian community in China and the huge NRI population in Hong Kong comprising Gujaratis, Sindhis and Marwaris. They are all extremely enthusiastic about the event,” a senior BJP leader told ET. Estimates put the number of Indians in China at 45,000, including13,000 students. The rest are businessmen and professionals working in various multi-national companies in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangdong. Though Modi will be visiting Beijing and the historical city of Xi’an, Shanghai was chosen for the mega-event since it’s the biggest city in China with a population of 24 million and also the global financial hub. “It will make for grand optics for Modi and India. With India’s economic growth expected to overtake China’s in the coming years, an event like this will showcase the emerging India,” the BJP leader explained.

He said they were in touch with the various Indian associations in China, which were reaching out to people to register for the event.

BJP leaders involved in organising the event admitted they were somewhat wary of the Chinese reaction to the event but said that they had not met with any opposition yet.