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CHENNAI, India: Supporters of US vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris prayed near her ancestral village in India ahead of US elections on Tuesday (November 3), as a Hindu fringe group sought divine blessings for their rival Donald Trump.
The southern region of India where Harris’s maternal grandfather was born is encouraging the Democratic Party to win because of the family connection.
Meanwhile, a group claiming to have the support of 5 million Hindus says it wants Trump to be re-elected to keep major rivals India, Pakistan and China at bay.
Hours before the US presidential election, people living in and around Thulasendrapuram, the town of Harris’s grandfather, gathered at a temple for special prayers.
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A local politician carried out an “abhishekam,” a practice that involves pouring milk over a Hindu idol while reciting religious verses, in the presence of about 20 villagers, said R Manikandan, a shopkeeper near the temple.
He said that more than 15 cars and motorcycles, belonging to reporters working for local and international media outlets, had gathered in Thulasendrapuram to cover the ritual.
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RR Kalidas Vandayar, a businessman and director of a cricket association in the nearest city, plans to offer food to more than 150 people to seek his blessings for Harris, who is running alongside Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
“She is from here and we are proud of her,” said Vandayar’s brother, RR Jayakumar Vandayar.
Hundreds of miles north of Delhi, nearly two dozen members of a group known as the Hindu Sena (Hindu Army) joined a saffron-robed priest to perform fire rituals and sing verses for Trump’s victory.
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They held up photographs of the leader with one of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, lounging to one side.
“India can fight terrorism only if Trump is present, and both China and Pakistan will remain restricted as long as he is president,” the group’s founder, Vishnu Gupta, said by phone.
“We wish Harris the best because of his Indian descent, but the vice presidents are not that powerful.”
