Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' family from Delhi, Chennai keen to visit US for swearing-in ceremony

Elated over the election of Senator Kamala Harris as the vice president of the United States, her maternal uncle Gopalan Balachandran said that he knew she was going to win and would be flying to America to attend her swearing-in ceremony in January 2021.

The rest of Harris’ family will also go to the US to be present during the ceremony, which is likely to be held on January 20, reported The Indian Express after talking to Balachandran.

"My daughter is already there, helping Kamala with her campaign. All of us will fly down… I wouldn’t miss it for anything," the 80-year-old uncle of Vice President-elect Harris told the publication.

Harris (56), whose mother was from the state of Tamil Nadu, will become the first-ever female vice president of the US. She will also be the first Indian-origin, first Black and first African American vice president of the country.

Delhi-based Balachandran said he was feeling "very proud of Kamala" and would call and congratulate her soon. "My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the news came out," he said.

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Balachandran, who was previously with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, has been watching TV for the last four days and doing his own calculations to determine who will win the US presidential elections.

Based on his calculation, he said, "I prefer to do my own research over belief projections shown on television… I don’t just hope that they will come to power, I have been studying the elections for some time, and I know that they will win."

Speaking to the publication, he remembered Harris' mother Shyamala and said that she would have been very proud too if she were here today.

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Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who moved to the US for her education at the age of 19, died of cancer in 2009. Her father, Donald Harris, is from Jamaica.

Balachandran said that Harris was "very inspired" by Shyamala, who would attend civil rights protests back then. "She (Kamala) grew up being a firm believer in equal rights for all, so in the long run I know that she will take steps to guarantee these rights in her country," he added.

The Chennai-based maternal aunt of Harris, Dr Sarala Gopalan also said that she hopes to attend her swearing-in ceremony in the US.