Refuting claims that they were in the US to campaign for Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential elections there, ministers Kanu Desai and Jagdish Vishwakarma have insisted that they were there merely to support the Gujarati diaspora.

The two ministers represented the state government at a recent event held in Dallas, Texas, where 15,000 non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) came together. Also in attendance were Anand MLA Vipul Patel, former minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, and IFFCO chairman Dilip Sanghani.

The United Gujarati Convention 2024 was organized by the Federation of Gujarati Associations (FOGA) — an umbrella of about 100 groups — Aug 2–5. There are about 1.7 million Gujaratis living in the US. 

“We’re seeing Gujarat ministers in America after 30 years,” ministers Desai and Vishwakarma cited the NRGs they met in the US as saying. 

Refuting allegations that they were campaigning for the former president, they added that they were soliciting investments for the state.

“Gujaratis living in America are investing in Karnataka instead of in their home state. So we were asking them to invest in Gujarat,” they said, sharing their experience of the convention, which followed the theme of “One Gujarat, One Gujarati, One Voice”.