Shashi Tharoor Calls US Presidential Race 'Very Tight', Calls To Wait Till Final Count

Shashi Tharoor called the US election between Kamala Harris and Trump very close, noting the shift in trends as votes are counted.

New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday, called the White House race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump "very close," adding that the current trend may change once counting shifts from rural to the urban areas.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "Let's see what happens, it looks like a very close election. Come what may." Elaborating on the counting process in the US, Tharoor said that the less populated rural areas are counted first followed by the dense urban areas. He further stated the "picture has started changing" as the counting progresses.

"The truth of the matter is that the way they count in America, it is a physical counting process as you know, they start off with the less populated rural areas. In America, the dense population is in urban areas. Rural areas are strongly Republicans and Trump-inclined in many states. Whereas, cities tend to be much more liberal and Democratic-inclined. So, once the city votes come in, the picture is changing," the Congress leader said.

"The Associated Press News Agency which about 15-20 minutes ago had Trump in a very big lead is now showing electoral college votes at 220-205. Very tight. So, I think we just have to be prepared to wait until the final count is in," he added.

The Congress leader also shed light on the challenges of the counting day citing the controversy in 2020 after Donald Trump challenged the results in multiple states.

"There may be challenges as we saw in 2020. The final result took a couple of days to come because Trump was challenging in 3-4 states. Let's see what happens, it looks like a very close election. Come what may."

According to the current projections of the presidential race called by Politico, Donald Trump is projected to win 246 electoral votes and Kamala Harris 210. A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes out of 538 to win the presidency in an election that is seen as one of the most significant in recent US history

Trump, who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, is seeking a return to the White House. Vice President Harris is aiming to create history by becoming the first woman president in US history.

The election is expected to come down to a handful of battleground states -- Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump has won the battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia.

Being asked about the India-Canada diplomatic row, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said that the government should try to keep all parties involved on such issues.

"I think that on these matters, the Govt should find in its own interest to keep all parties involved. This is something that transcends politics," Tharoor said. "We have been getting a briefing from the Foreign Secretary in our external affairs committee."

Tharoor, who is also the Chairman of the Parliament Standing Committee on External Affairs, along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived at Parliament House Annexe, where the latter will brief the committe on the India-Canada row.

The agenda for the meeting states that representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs will give oral evidence on Demands for Grants of the Ministry for the year 2024-25 and there will be briefing by Foreign Secretary "on issues in India's foreign relations - India-Canada and India-China".

India's ties with Canada have seen sharp deterioration with India repeatedly expressing its deep concern about extremism and the culture of violence and anti-India activities in Canada and has asked Canadian authorities to take action against these activities.

The ties between India and Canada took a sharp downturn following Canadian leaders making allegations without providing evidence regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The sharp downturn in ties saw India recalling its High Commissioner from Canada.

An Indian consular camp at the Hindu Sabha Temple in Canada's Brampton witnessed a "violent disruption" on Sunday in Brampton, near Toronto. The incident sparked widespread criticism in and outside Canada.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condemned the "deliberate attack" on a Hindu temple in Canada and said that "cowardly attempts to intimidate" Indian diplomats were appalling and New Delhi expects Canadian authorities to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.