Kandivali temple offers prayers for Donald Trump at behest of NRIs

A yagna being performed for Donald Trump at Vishnudham temple, in Kandivali (east) on Monday.

Ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday, rituals seeking divine blessings for the victory of Republican presidential candidate and real estate tycoon Donald Trump were performed in a temple on Monday at the behest of non-resident Indians (NRIs) who hail from Kandivali.

“We performed two yagnas for the victory of Mr Trump. The rituals were performed at the behest of NRIs in the US,” said Ramesh Joshi, the trustee of Vishnudham temple in Kandivali.

According to Mr Joshi, the three-hour-long rituals were conducted by the temple as these NRIs were regular visitors to the temple whenever they came to India. “They asked us to perform the yagnas. Accordingly, two yagnas were performed.

The Vijay Prapti Yagna was to ensure victory for Mr Trump and the Shasan Prapti Yagna was to help him govern in the US,” he said.

Earlier, on Friday, the Delhi-based Hindu Sena hosted an event at Jantar Mantar to offer prayers and wishes for Mr Trump’s victory in the US presidential election on November 8. Along with the Hindu Sena, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, too, on Monday conducted a havan and offered prayers for Mr Trump’s victory. One of the reasons for Mr Trump’s popularity among these NRIs is that, in the past, he has made pro-India comments such as, “India is doing well, but that country isn’t getting the attention it deserves.”

Meanwhile, an ABC/Washington Post tracker on Sunday put Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton five points ahead of Mr Trump even as the latter embarked on a cross-country odyssey through key battlegrounds in the US such as Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mr Trump also plans to make stops in once reliably Democratic Party leaning states such as Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota.