Donald Trump has plenty of fans in India. They even built a wall for his visit to block the view of slums

Bussa Krishna first began worshipping Donald Trump four years ago when the US president appeared to him in a dream. Since then, after a run of good fortune, the Indian real estate broker has transformed his modest home into a shrine to the US president, who is due in India on Monday for a two-day visit. “My love for him has transformed into reverence. That has given me immense happiness. Hence instead of praying to other gods, I started praying to him,” Krishna said. Krishna, who lives alone in a village in the southern state of Telangana, has erected a life-size statue to Trump in his yard, while his walls are scrawled with the leader’s name – to the annoyance of his extended family. “I am facing difficulties because of my relatives,” Krishna said. “They tell me that I am disgracing them in society. I told them that just like you believe and worship Shiva, I believe and worship Trump. Neither of us can stop the other from doing so.” Krishna is not the only Indian who reveres Trump. In New Delhi, members of the Hindu Sena, a right-wing fringe group, have begun rehearsing a welcome song in his honour. Its members say that Trump shares their hatred of Islamic extremism, and it has drawn attention for boisterous celebrations of his birthday, including pretending to feed cake to photos of his face. “We like Donald Trump because he openly spoke about India’s feelings,” Hindu Sena leader Vishnu Gupta said. “He openly said that he would eliminate Islamic terrorism from its roots, that is why I am his fan.” Trump, who like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a reputation as an unabashed populist who shows his enemies no mercy, is making his first visit to India. Trump’s itinerary starts on February 24 in the western city of Ahmedabad, where he will visit the former home of independence hero Mahatma Gandhi and address an estimated 125,000 people at a rally. He is due in the capital the following day. Trump’s visit could help smooth relations strained by trade disputes and also allow him to woo tens of thousands of Indian-American voters ahead of the US presidential election. The Trump administration levied tariffs on steel and aluminium from India. India responded with higher tariffs on agricultural goods and restrictions on US medical devices, prompting the US to retaliate by removing India from a decades-old preferential trade programme. In Ahmedabad, in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, a half-kilometre wall has been hastily erected ahead of Trump’s visit, and critics say it was built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people. How Modi’s budget failed India’s poorest and most vulnerable “Since they are spending so much money on this wall, why not use that to improve our slum and provide better facilities for us,” said Keshi Saraniya, a resident. “Why are they hiding us poor people?” Trump will attend an event called “Namaste Trump” at a cricket stadium along the lines of the “Howdy Modi” rally he hosted for the Indian leader in Houston last September. Trump is to drive along a road next to the slum and will be accompanied by Modi. Senior government official Bijal Patel said the wall was built “for security reasons” and not to conceal the slum. “Apart from security reasons, the wall is also part of a beautification and cleanliness drive,” she said. Several political leaders were quick to criticise the wall’s construction, questioning Modi’s development work in his own state. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat for 12 years before becoming the country’s prime minister in May 2014. Did ‘Howdy Modi’ rally turn Indian-Americans into Trump voters? Authorities on Monday also served eviction notices to 45 families living in another slum area near the cricket stadium. The residents said they were asked to leave because of the coming event, but the city’s civic body denied it. “We have been living here for the last 20 years and now we are suddenly being told to vacate because some important leader is visiting this city for a day,” said Sanjay Patani, a resident. “This is injustice.” Kishore Varna, a government official, said the land belongs to the civic body and evictions were done under the law. He did not say why the eviction notices were sent just days ahead of Trump’s visit. Additional reporting by Associated Press