On Wednesday, the United States congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his coalition on winning the election, expressing its desire to collaborate with him on creating a “free and open” Asia.
“Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Democratic Alliance on their victory, and the nearly 650 million voters in this historic election,” President Joe Biden wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The friendship between our nations is only growing as we unlock a shared future of unlimited potential.”
As a means of countering China’s assertive actions, the US hopes to maintain “our partnership with the Indian government to promote prosperity and innovation, address the climate crisis and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
In a statement, Miller referred to the election as “the largest exercise in democracy in human history” and expressed gratitude to “Indian voters, poll workers, civil society, and journalists” for their democratic efforts.
Since the late 1990s, the United States has made fostering relations with India a top priority. It views the democracy home to over a billion people as having similar views on a number of important issues, such as the growth of China and the threat posed by Islamist extremism.
Biden has kept up the courtship, welcoming Modi on a state visit last year and boosting the role of the “Quad” — a group bringing together the United States, India, Japan and Australia, all major democracies with degrees of friction with China.
The embrace of Modi comes despite rising criticism from human rights groups and some left-wing members of Biden’s Democratic Party over what they see as rising authoritarianism by the Hindu nationalist prime minister.
The Biden administration, while gently raising concerns on human rights, has largely brushed off concerns and moved full-speed ahead with Modi.
However, after US prosecutors claimed last year that an Indian intelligence operative was complicit in an assassination plan against a Sikh separatist on US grounds, senior US officials tactfully cautioned India of the potential repercussions for the relationship.
After the election, Modi is expected to serve a third term in government, but his Bharatiya Janata Party lost seats and would require coalition partners, not meeting the initial expectations of a landslide victory.
