Tamil Nadu CM hails Kamala Harris' 'astounding victory'

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Sunday greeted US President-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris and particularly recalled her Tamil Nadu roots.

Democrat Joe Biden on Saturday defeated incumbent Republican US President Donald Trump in the closely-fought US presidential elections.

In a tweet, Palaniswami expressed joy over Harris becoming the first woman to be elected as vice-president of the US following her "astounding victory." "My heartfelt congratulations to @JoeBiden who has been elected as the 46th president of United States," he said.

"I'm extremely glad that @KamalaHarris is the first woman to be elected as the Vice President of US. She has made Tamil Nadu proud with this astounding victory.

BidenHarris2020"," he said.

Harris, California Senator, had been earlier picked by Biden as her running mate.

Her grandfather P V Gopalan, a former civil servant, hails from Thulasenthirapuram in Tiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu and the small village had been praying for her elevation.

DMK President M K Stalin, while greeting both Biden and Harris, said he was "pleased" the US people had chosen a woman with "Tamil heritage" as their next vice-president.

"Congratulations to the President-Elect @JoeBiden and the Vice President-Elect @KamalaHarris of the USA." "Especially pleased that American people have chosen a woman with Tamil heritage as their next Vice-President in this historic election.#USPresidentialElections2020," Stalin, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, said in a tweet.

Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader and independent legislator T T V Dhinakaran also greeted Harris.

"Let her actions be a matter of pride not just for Thulasenthirapuram, but all Tamils," he said on Twitter while extending his greetings to Harris on her elevation.

PMK founder S Ramadoss also extended his greetings to Biden and Harris.

Referring to Harris' Tamil Nadu connections, he wished this would help in "constructive growth" of Indo-US relations.

(Image: PTI)