Obama's India visit: Leaders' personal equation may balance relations

NEW DELHI: As Barack Obama lands in New Delhi, much is being made of the personal "chemistry" between him and Narendra Modi.

Obama's deputy NSA Ben Rhodes was the latest to refer to it. "Our hope is that the chemistry between the leaders and the personal relationship can lead to positive outcomes for our country.So it's worth the investment in the relationship with the country, the leader, and the people of India," he told journalists.

At their first Washington meeting, Modi and Obama discovered a couple of things about each other.Both are "outsiders" to the take-no-prisoners politics of their capitals. Both ran inspirational election campaigns using communication technology that changed the course of their nations. Both are loners in their own way with uniquely scripted life histories.

Obama is no "gut" chemistry guy. That was former president George W Bush.When he reached out to India, it was, according to his aides, because he believed it was the right thing to do.

In the past few years, it's been clear Obama is a more transactional president.As India under Manmohan Singh got bogged down in policy paralysis and an economic morass, the US lost interest, and the bilateral story was a laundry list of blame games.

Modi changed the game.Personally impressed by the American story as a result of his travels through the US, Modi concluded that the US could be made the most credible partner for his economic project. "He (Modi) focused a lot of that energy on domestic issues and the economy there, but the fact that he wants the US-India relationship to be a part of his ambitions for India is significant in opening the space for us to get some things done here," Rhodes said.

Modi is probably the ultimate transactional leader Obama will ever deal with.Perhaps that is the key to their "personal chemistry".Modi has brushed aside concerns that in Obama's twilight years as president and with a hostile Congress, the US president is close to being a lame duck. He is concentrating energies on the US president. He's likely to exhibit the same enthusiasm with the next White House incumbent after 2016.

For both leaders this joint endeavour has national benefits. For Modi, value is in getting the world's sole superpower invested in India's growth. He doesn't talk grand strategy, but echoes Manmohan Singh's famous line: "When economics becomes big enough, it becomes strategic."

Obama might finish his presidency with the India relationship being the bright spot on his report card. He may have wanted to achieve that with Singh, but finds the "doer" in Modi more suited for the purpose. Both are, therefore, on the same page.