US Election Results 2024: 8,000 miles away, Kamala Harris' ancestral village in Tamil Nadu to pray for her victory

It's not unknown that US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has Indian roots. With less than a day left for the final US presidential elections, people living in Harris' ancestral village in Tamil Nadu are preparing to hold special prayers for her victory.

According to Reuters, the locals were preparing to hold prayers on Tuesday, the day of the US election, in a Hindu temple more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from Washington.

Kamala Harris is the daughter of late Shyamala Gopalan, who was Indian-American, and Donald Harris, who is Jamaican-American.

The US Vice President's maternal grandfather PV Gopalan was born more than a century ago in the leafy village of Thulasendrapuram, in what is now South India's Tamil Nadu.

"There will be a special prayer on Tuesday morning at the temple," G. Manikandan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying. "Celebrations will follow if she wins," Manikandan said.

At the temple, Harris's name and that of her grandfather are engraved into a stone that lists public donations. Outside, a large banner wishes "the daughter of the land" success in the election.

Gopalan and his family had migrated a few hundred miles to the coastal city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu's capital, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.

The village received global attention four years ago when its residents prayed for victory for Harris' Democratic Party in 2020 before celebrating her inauguration as US Vice President by setting off firecrackers and distributing food.

Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump were scrambling to get supporters to the polls in an historically close contest, which means it could take days for the winner to emerge.

The final voting for the US Elections 2024 will be held on Tuesday, November 5. Many pre-poll surveys and opinion polls show Harris in close contest with Republican and former US President Donald Trump in swing states – which will ultimately decide the winner of the US Elections.

(With inputs from Reuters)