Why Vadluru village in Andhra is celebrating the victory of Donald Trump

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Aasha Khosa | Date 07-11-2024
US Vice President elect J D Vance and his wife Usha Vance
US Vice President elect J D Vance and his wife Usha Vance

 

New Delhi

People in Vadluru, the residential village of Usha Vance, wife of US Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, took to the streets to celebrate after Donald Trump crossed the 270-majority mark in the US election. The villagers knew that with this, Usha would become the second lady in the most powerful country.

The village, located in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, is where Usha's family comes from.

As news spread, villagers burst crackers and cheered, marking a joyous moment for the community. Usha Vance, an Indian-American lawyer, is set to become the first Indian-American Second Lady of the United States in January.

JD Vance's wife Usha Chilukuri Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants and has an impressive academic background.

Raised in a suburb of San Diego, California, with a strong emphasis on education and hard work, Usha's academic achievements include serving as Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and Executive Development Editor of The Yale Law Journal, according to a biography from Munger, Tolles & Olson law firm.

Usha Vance has played a subtle yet significant role in her husband's success. She assisted Vance in organizing his thoughts on the social decline in rural white America, which inspired his best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which was adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard in 2020.

The celebration in Vadluru village reflects the pride and excitement felt by the Indian-American community, particularly those with Telugu roots. Her husband, JD Vance, ran alongside Donald Trump in the US elections.

"We hope that Trump will win the election. America is countering terrorism across the world. The relations between America and India will improve if Trump becomes the President. There is a big fight between the two (Trump and Kamala Harris). We feel generally proud that (Usha) Vance is a native of Vadluru. We feel proud (about it). They donated the land long ago, but her (Vance's) relatives are here," Ramana, a resident of the village said.

The wedding picture of the Vance couple posted on social media during the campaigning

Usha Vance's grandaunt in India Professor C Santhamma expressed her happiness after the US Polls.

Speaking to ANI, C Santhamma said, "Naturally, I feel happy. She belongs to our family and it is the most important thing".

Describing her connection with Vance, she said, "My relationship is through my husband. My husband has 5 brothers. The eldest brother has 4 children. Usha is the daughter of one of his sons".

She suggested two areas for Usha Vance to focus on, the first being to help India in a way that intelligence is retained in the country. The second area of attention highlighted by Santhamma was to promote the revival of Sanskrit in India.

On being asked about the expectations from the upcoming Trump administration on the relationship with India, Santhamma said that the government should engage in positive deliberations and "They should aim at elevating goodness".

Usha, born and brought up in the US completed her education from prestigious institutions such as Cambridge and Yale University.

She met JD Vance during her studies at Yale Law School. She has a successful career in the field of law.

After the results of the US Presidential elections were announced, Vice-President Elect JD Vance expressed his gratitude on the social media platform X, where he congratulated his wife for his success.

On November 6, Vance took to his social media X and expressed gratitude to his wife and President-elect Trump.

 "THANK YOU! To my beautiful wife for making it possible to do this. To President Donald J. Trump, for giving me such an opportunity to serve our country at this level. And to the American people for their trust. I will never stop fighting for ALL of you," Vance said on X.

American media were quite interested in the vance couple as it clear from this post on X:

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu congratulated US Vice President-elect JD Vance's wife Usha Vance on becoming the first Telugu woman to serve as Second Lady of the US and bringing pride to the Telugu community.

Taking to social media X, Naidu wrote in a post "I would also like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Mr.@JDVance, on becoming the US Vice President-elect. His victory marks a historic moment, as Mrs. Usha Vance, who has roots in Andhra Pradesh, will become the first woman of Telugu heritage to serve as the Second Lady of the US. This is a moment of pride for the Telugu community around the world. I look forward to the opportunity to invite them to visit Andhra Pradesh."