Union minister Ramdas Athawale’s unique theory on why India-US ties will improve under Donald Trump

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday expressed his happiness over Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, saying that both Trump and he belong to the “Republican” party.

Athawale, who is the chief of the Republican Party of India, said that Indian-Americans played a key role in Donald Trump’s victory.

“Trump is from the Republican Party, and my party’s name is also the Republican Party, so I am very happy. He is a very big leader, and was elected with the support of Indian (origin) voters,” Athawale told reporters.

In January 2021, Athawale had remarked that Donald Trump, then the US President, had lost the right to be called a Republican after his supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the November 3, 2020, election result.

The mob stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 to disrupt Congress, which was about to confirm Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election against Trump.

The attack was allegedly aimed to stop Biden from taking office and was seen as an insurrection, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) labeling it ‘domestic terrorism.’

Athawale had said that what Trump did ahead of the transition of power was detrimental to democracy, and as a result, he had lost the right to be called a Republican.

Athawale had also mentioned that he used to have a lot of respect for Trump, but that respect dissipated after Trump insulted the public mandate following the 2020 US presidential election.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday secured a second term in the US presidency, marking one of the greatest political comebacks in American history as he triumphed over his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, in a fiercely contested election.

The 78-year-old Republican leader secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency by triumphing in the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.