TELANGANA, India — Hindu priests in the southern Indian state of Telangana have been conducting a series of prayers and rituals for U.S. Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, less than a week before the Nov. 5 election.
The 11-day ceremony, organized by the Shyamala Gopalan Educational Foundation, is intended to invoke blessings for Harris’s success in the election. The foundation was established to honor Harris’s mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan, a biomedical scientist who immigrated to the United States from India in 1958.
“We are seeking the divine blessings of Rajashyamala Devi for Kamala Harris’s victory in the presidential race,” said Nalla Suresh Reddy, founder and chairman of the foundation.
The race between Harris and her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has remained close in critical battleground states, with polls showing little separation between the two candidates. With millions of ballots already cast, turnout is expected to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election.
According to the University of Florida’s Election Hub, over 53 million Americans have already voted, reflecting an extraordinary level of engagement in a contest that will determine the leadership of the world’s largest economy and one of its most influential democracies for the next four years.
