Usha Chilukuri: Usha Chilukuri Vance is being talked about in the US ahead of the presidential election, but she hails from an unknown village in Andhra Pradesh and a distant relative of hers here wants her to remember her Godavari roots and contribute to India in every possible way. The wife of JD Vance, Donald Trump’s vice-presidential candidate for the upcoming 2024 US presidential election, traces her origins to a village in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district, her relative said. Vizag-based 96-year-old physics professor C Shantamma, who has never met or spoken to Usha, is in the news for being a distant relative. “I am related to Usha through my husband (C Subramanya Shastri). She is the granddaughter of my brother-in-law, who worked as an IIT professor,” Shantamma told a local news channel on Wednesday. Subramanya Shastri’s eldest brother, C Ram Shastri, is Usha’s grandfather. Her parents, C Radhakrishna and Lakshmi, had immigrated to the US around 1980. According to the ninety-year-old who teaches physics as an emeritus professor at a private university in Vizianagaram, Usha’s family belonged to Vadduru village near Tanuku town in the lush green West Godavari district.
She was overjoyed at Usha’s emergence as the wife of the Republican Party’s US vice-presidential candidate and extended her heartfelt congratulations to the accomplished lawyer. “I consider him a very important person. He would have had a lot of power. At the same time, he would have faced many difficulties,” said Usha’s grandmother, noting the contribution and efforts of JD Vance in her success. Describing Vance as a helpful husband, she said that in a conducive environment, Vance would have helped Usha a lot in her career. Besides, she exhorted Usha to remember her Godavari roots and always contribute to India in every possible way from her side. Vance, 39, on Wednesday formally accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination on the third day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, US, making him one of the youngest Americans to fill the position. Trump and his running mate Vance will challenge President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party in the November 5 presidential election.
