THULASENDRAPURAM, India - Residents in United States’ Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in southern India were preparing to hold prayers on election day on Nov 5 in a Hindu temple more than 13,000 km from Washington.

       Ms Harris’ maternal grandfather P.V. Gopalan was born more than a century ago in the leafy village of Thulasendrapuram, in what is now southern India’s Tamil Nadu state.

       “There will be a special prayer on Tuesday morning at the temple,” villager G. Manikandan, who runs a small store near the temple, said. “Celebrations will follow if she wins.”

       At the temple, Ms Harris’ name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations, along with that of her grandfather. Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land” success in the election.

       Mr Gopalan and his family migrated a few hundred kilometers 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 Ms Harris’ Democratic Party in 2020 before celebrating her inauguration as US Vice-President by setting off firecrackers and distributing food.

       Ms 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. REUTERS

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