In the first such initiative, the Bharatiya Janata Party has invited the ruling and Opposition parties from around the world to witness the Lok Sabha elections in India first-hand.
The Communist party of China is not on the list of foreign political parties invited by the BJP.
"We are trying this out for the first time in this election," said Vijay Chauthaiwale, a member of the BJP national executive, and in charge of the party's foreign affairs cell (Videsh Vibhag).
Britain's Conservative and Labour parties have been sent an invitation, as have the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats in Germany, and the Democrats as well as the Republicans in the US.
In India's neighbourhood, all the five coalition partners in the ruling party alliance in Nepal -- thought to have a broadly China tilt -- have also been invited.
In all, more than two dozen political parties have been sent invitations and more are expected to be added to the list.
The invitations were sent during the Easter week, so the BJP leadership is still waiting to hear how many will respond from Europe.
But confirmations have already come in from 15. They will be invited to witness the third and fourth phase of elections.
In the past, the BJP has taken small groups of India-based diplomats to various places around the country to witness elections.
The Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections were an example. Its leaders say this will be repeated.
The idea behind the current initiative is to show the world how India holds elections and throw open its democratic credentials to scrutiny by practising political actors.
Describing the general elections in the country as the 'biggest exercise of democracy, British MP and Padma Shri recipient Bob Blackman was quoted as saying last week: 'Obviously, the Indian election is massive. It is the biggest exercise of democracy anywhere in the world.
'And I have a little prediction for you, a majority with 400-plus. Now the friendship between India and the United Kingdom has grown stronger ever since we have been involved in government and the BJP has gained power in India.'
The BJP is not limiting itself to political actors.
It has taken steps to systematically corral the Indian diaspora -- chapters of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) in nearly a dozen countries -- to hold group conversations, car rallies and meetings both in their own countries and back home in India.
"Our work has two dimensions: OFBJP works both inside the country and in India. The idea is to mobilise this opinion and create a tempo (for the elections) both inside the country and outside," says Chauthaiwale.
Members of OFBJP in various countries are already holding meetings, work-shops, and strategising on how to take the message of the BJP across to voters.
Over 1,000 will likely land in India over the next week. This number is a conservative figure.
"There many who have decided to come on their own to work for the party and have not registered with us," Chauthaiwale says.
They have been asked to report to BJP units in areas they are familiar with so that they can be put to most use.
They have also been told that they should come to India only if they can put aside two weeks or more for outreach activity -- anything less than that would be suboptimal.
Chauthaiwale says the outreach exercise will pick up pace once the nomination process has ended.
However, the exercise to monitor elections is not limited to those who are sympathetic to the BJP.
Groups of academics, many of whom are of Indian origin, are also getting together to oversee elections.
The Panel for Monitoring Indian Elections (IPMIE) - 2024 is led by Professr Rahul Mukherjee, professor and chair, Modern Politics of South Asia, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University in Germany.
This group has already written to the Election Commission of India announcing its intention: 'Our goal is to observe elections as they unfold, publish reports, and raise concerns.
'In observing elections, we are guided by national and international norms and standards, and international best practices. We are non-partisan and independent," the letter says.
How does the diaspora relate to elections back home?
Seminal research on social and political attitudes of the American Indian diaspora in 2020 by the Carnegie Endowment's South Asia Centre is revealing.
It found that the BJP was the most popular political party among Indian Americans, as 32 per cent favoured it (compared to 12 per cent identifying with the Congress).
However, two in five Indian Americans did not identify with any Indian political party -- suggesting an arms-length relationship with everyday politics in India.
Two-thirds of Indian Americans either didn't care or were opposed to the BJP.
Says Dr Devesh Kapur, one of the academics who designed the survey: "As in India there is greater support for Modi compared to the BJP. But even on this the percentage of Indian-Americans holding broadly favourable views of Modi was 48 per cent (in response to a question if they approved of Modi's performance as prime minister) -- substantially less than in India".
The South Asia Centre is planning a similar survey in August.
Meanwhile, as planeloads of Indians living and working abroad return to work for the BJP, there is little evidence that other parties, including the Congress, have equally motivated supporters.
A Congress sympathiser in Australia who wanted to remain anonymous said he sought to arrange meetings to host Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Australia but "finding funding was a problem".
Congress supporters like Sam Pitroda have been hosting outreach functions for Rahul Gandhi with the help of local groups.
The space for hosting such engagements is shrinking, due to funds crunch.
The BJP and the Congress have in the past invited foreign leaders to attend their oath-taking ceremonies.
But rarely has the level of engagement been so high before a general election.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
