Prayers and support for Kamala and Trump in India

Presidential election day across a bitterly divided America is wrapping up with record numbers having voted.

Vote counting may take days, leaving the nation and much of the world on tenterhooks, waiting to find out who is going to be the next president and vice-president of the US.

Many people in India will also be anxiously following the results as they come in.

Kamala Harris, Democrat candidate Joe Biden’s pick for running mate, has family in India.

Although her father is Jamaican, and both Harris and her dad identify as black, her mother was born and raised in India.

In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, her maternal grandfather and his neighbours have been literally praying for her to win, reports AFP.

Villagers in Thulasendrapuram gathered at a local temple for the ritual of “abhishekam” in which milk is poured over a Hindu idol while prayers are recited.

“She is from here, and we are proud of her,’’ said supporter RR Jayakumar Vandayar to a chorus of agreement from fellow villagers.

Much further north, in Delhi, the National Capital Territory that includes the nation’s capital city of New Delhi, Reuters is reporting members of Hindu Sena (Hindu Army) gathering around a priest as he lit ceremonial fires and chanted prayers for a Trump victory.

“India can fight terrorism only if Trump is around, and both China and Pakistan will stay restrained as long as he is the president,” leader Vishnu Gupta said.

“We wish Harris well because of her Indian ancestry, but vice-presidents are not as powerful as presidents.”