The electoral earthquake that just shook up India is stirring up great excitement in, of all places, Israel, where Indian voters’ dramatic move to sweep away the ruling Congress Party and bring to power the opposition is making outsized headlines.
By all indications, the victory of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leader, Narendra Modi, is about to rapidly accelerate a trend that was already in place, creating much closer and much more productive ties between Israel and India.
Modi was famously described months ago by an Indian journalist as “Israel’s best friend in South Asia.” The sentiment, which is reportedly shared by much of the BJP’s leadership, was in evidence during Modi’s 13 years as chief minister of the economically vibrant state of Gujarat.