Andhra Pradesh, India

US election 2024: As the United States presidential elections came to an end with Republican Donald Trump claiming the race to the White House, there’s a small village in India that is also rejoicing in this win along with the Republican supporters.

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That is because the soon-to-be Second lady of the US, Usha Vance, wife of US Vice President-elect JD Vance, hails from a small village in Andhra Pradesh. 

Usha Chilukuri Vance, 38, was born and brought up in suburban San Diego. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants, and her paternal ancestors live in Vadluru, a village in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. 

Before the election, the villagers offered prayers for Trump’s victory, and Hindu priest Appaji hoped Usha Vance would do something in return.

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“We expect her to help our village,” the 43-year-old priest said, dressing in flowing saffron robes, after lighting a candle at the idol of Hindu elephant-headed deity Ganesh for Trump.

“If she can recognise her roots and do something good for this village, then that would be great.”

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“Every Indian — not just myself, every Indian — we feel proud of Usha because she is of Indian origin,” said 70-year-old Venkata Ramanayy. “We hope she will develop our village.”

Watch | Donald Trump Gives Shoutout to Usha Vance: US' First Indian-Origin Second Lady

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“We have already seen the governance of Trump — very good,” Ramanayy said. “Indian and American relations were very fine during the presidency of Trump.”

Notably, Usha has never visited her village, but the priest said her father came around three years ago and also checked on the temple’s condition.

Usha Vance set to become first Hindu second lady of US

Usha is a practising Hindu who studied at Yale and Cambridge Universities and married JD Vance in Kentucky in 2014. They have three children.

Her great-grandfather moved out of Vadluru and her father, Chilukuri Radhakrishnan, a PhD holder, was brought up in the Indian city of Chennai before going on to study in the US.

Little is known about Radhakrishnan’s initial years in the US, but the film of JD Vance’s best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, refers to him coming to the country with “nothing.”

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Usha played a crucial role in her husband's achievements as well. She assisted JD Vance in organising his thoughts on the social decline in rural white America, which inspired Hillbilly Elegy, as per news agency ANI.

In the memoir, JD described her as his “Yale spirit guide,” helping him navigate life at the elite university where they met. 

“She instinctively understood the questions I didn’t even know to ask, and she always encouraged me to seek opportunities that I didn’t know existed,” he wrote, as per CNN.

(With inputs from agencies)