In major thaw, US Ambassador to meet Narendra Modi this week

Washington: Nancy Powell, the US ambassador to India, will meet BJP candidate for prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, signaling a turnaround by Washington after years of shunning him over the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Ambassador Powell's meeting with Mr Modi, scheduled in Gandhinagar, would put the United States in line with European nations, which have already ended a boycott of Mr Modi, as surveys and polls indicate a distinct advantage for his party, the BJP, in the general elections due by May. (BJP to be biggest party in 2014 election: opinion polls)

A US State Department official confirmed the appointment between Mr Modi and Ms Powell, saying, "This is part of our concentrated outreach to senior political and business leaders which began in November to highlight the US-India relationship."

On grant of visa to Mr Modi, the official said, "There has been no change in our longstanding visa policy.  When individuals apply for a US visa, their applications are reviewed in accordance with US law and policy. We do not speculate about outcomes of that process."

While the United States has little way of changing course on visa unless Mr Modi again applies to travel to that country, AFP has quoted a congressional aide as saying that the meeting with Ms Powell would send a signal of US openness on the matter.

"A meeting with the ambassador could be a way of signaling, 'You'll get a visa,' without having to say it, which she can't," the aide told AFP on condition of anonymity.

In 2005, the United States had, under domestic laws related to human rights, denied Mr Modi a visa saying that the Gujarat chief minister was "responsible for the (lack of) performance of state institutions" during the 2002 communal riots in his state.

Human rights groups and political rivals allege that Mr Modi turned a blind eye to the riots, that killed hundreds of people, mostly Muslims. Mr Modi has denied wrongdoing and a Supreme Court monitored investigation has cleared him of charges of complicity. (Gujarat court accepts clean chit to Narendra Modi in 2002 riots)

Mr Modi has sought to portray himself as a business-savvy leader who can champion India's economy and tackle corruption after a decade of rule by the left-leaning Congress party.