Donald Trump's win leaves Kamala Harris's ancestral village heartbroken

Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States, a result that has caused considerable heartbreak in Kamala Harris's mother's native village of Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu. Despite the unexpected outcome, the villagers remain hopeful for Harris's future success.

J Sudhakar, a DMK Tiruvarur district representative and leader of Thulasendrapuram, shared with PTI that the village had been preparing to celebrate Kamala Harris's anticipated victory in grand style.

"We were hoping for her victory and had planned celebrations bigger than Deepavali. We made arrangements to burst firecrackers, distribute sweets, offer temple pujas, and host a community lunch," he said.

Sudhakar praised Harris's resilience, stating, "It was a tough fight, and you must admire her fighting spirit. She is a fighter and will make a comeback."

Retired ONGC employee T S Anbasarasu expressed the villagers' disappointment but also their optimism for the future. "We cannot digest the fact that she has lost, but the saving grace is she is only 60 years old, and we expect her to win the next election. But Trump is 78. We are confident she will not get bogged down by this loss and will continue her work," he said.

Anbasarasu added that the village hopes for a visit from Harris in the future. "We hope she will visit our village after getting elected in future... we expected her to visit our village a few years back and had sent messages to her relatives too... our village has become a tourist spot because of her," he noted.

Harris's maternal ancestors hail from Thulasendrapuram, a village now eagerly anticipating her next steps on the political stage.