Chennai: Elections in the US, prayers in Tamil Nadu. However, don’t be surprised. The elections in the US have an Indian tinge to it. You didn’t get it. Well Kamala Harris brings the Indian tinge. She is a woman of Indian origin contesting to become vice-president for the Democrats.
People belonging to the ancestral village of Kamala Harris maternal grandfather in Tamil Nadu organised prayers for her and her party’s victory. Free idli and sambhar were also distributed to all devotees who attended the prayers in Thulasenthirapuram village. “We want her to win the polls, we are praying for her,” a local was quoted as saying by news agency ‘ANI’.
Posters were also put in the village, wishing her luck ahead of counting of the elections.
Former US vice-president Joe Biden’s Democratic Party is fighting the elections against incumbent President Donald Trump’s Republican Party in the polls. Harris is the vice-presidential candidate for the Democrats while Mike Pence is the running mate of Trump.
“From Thulasenthirapuram to America. US vice-president candidate contestant from the native origin of Thulasenthirapuram Kamala Harris. We wish her and her party success,” read the posters in Tamil.
Haris’ mother Shyamala Gopalan, a leading cancer researcher who moved to the US for studying, was an Indian. He father was a Jamaican. Shyamala’s father, PV Gopalan, was a high-ranking civil servant. He was born in Thulasenthirapuram, 320 km south of the city of Chennai.
To win the elections, either Trump or Biden must 270 of the Electoral College votes. The total number of Electoral College votes is 538. Biden has been tipped to win the elections because of Trump’s failure to handle the COVID-19 crisis in the US. It has been reported by a section of the media that more than 700 people have died after attending Trump’s rallies in the recent past.
Senator Harris if elected will be the first vice-president of Indian origin in the United States. She will hold the highest position in the US government ever achieved by a person of Indian origin.