US Election 2024: Spiritual leader Swami Saraswati performs Hawan for Trump's victory

Sadhus and priests in Delhi recently performed a hawan and prayed for former US President Donald Trump's victory in the upcoming US presidential elections. In viral videos shared on social media, the spiritual leaders can be seen chanting slogans such as “Elect Donald Trump. Make the world great again” chant.

Prominent spiritual leader Mahamandelshwar Swami Vedmutinand Saraswati was seen leading the hawan, performing rituals while invoking blessings for Trump's success. In the video, Saraswati is also shown applying vermilion to photos of Trump and holding up slogans in front of a poster featuring Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Indian-American presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy . The poster had the slogan: “Elect Donald Trump to save the Hindus.”

US election 2024:

As Americans began voting on Election Day Tuesday, officials are urging patience as ballots are counted in what could be a historically close presidential race – and warning that it could take days to find out who won.

In the US system, citizens do not vote directly for their leader. Instead, their ballots elect the 538 members of a group called the Electoral College, which then elects the president and vice president.

Each state casts its Electoral College votes for the candidate who won its popular vote. Larger states with more representatives in the U.S. Congress receive a larger share of the 538 Electoral College votes on offer.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump will vie to secure the all-important 270 votes that will push them past the halfway mark and guarantee them the keys to the Oval Office.

But as the race draws to a close this year, experts point to a growing risk of delays and complications such as legal challenges to vote counting.

Around 81 million people voted before Tuesday, more than half of all ballots cast in 2020.