Top economist Bhagwati eyes role in Modi government in India

Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi (2-R) prime ministerial candidate for India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), waves to his supporters as he arrives to file his nomination papers for the general elections in the northern Indian city of Varanasi April 24, 2014. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An eminent Indian-born economist positioning himself to advise Narendra Modi if the opposition leader becomes India's next prime minister would urge him to allow more foreign investment and trade to spur slow growth and curtail government spending.

Modi is favourite to become prime minister for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has a strong lead in opinion polls. He is running on a platform of reviving an economy going through its worst slowdown since the 1980s.