Lord Ganesha finds himself as an election symbol in USA and hell breaks loose

Washington, Sept 22: Even if Ganesha is an Indian God, in this age of globalisation, one can't complain if he finds himself landing in a controversy in the United States. It indeed happened that the elephant god found himself at the centre of a political controversy in the US, thanks to an advertisement in a newspaper in Texas.

It so happened that the advertisement carried an image of Lord Ganesha and asked: "Would you worship a donkey or an elephant? The choice is yours". The ad which came out in The India Herald newspaper was put there by the Republican Party of Texas's Fort Bend County, reports said.

The elephant is the symbol of the Grand Old Party while the donkey is the one of the Democrats. Ahead of the mid-term elections in the US in November, the political atmosphere has seen polarisation and Lord Ganesha, because of his resemblance with the Republicans' symbol, also found himself at the centre of a ruckus.

Speaking to The Independent, The India Herald's editor Seshadri Kumar said he was consulted by the chairman and that he did not find the ad offensive.

However, soon after the Hindu-American community in Houston got upset because of the ad and the Republican Party apologised. The Hindu American Foundation sought a clarification from the party of President Donald Trump, saying while it had no problem with the party's attempt to reach out to the Hindus by banking on a festival, equating their reverence for Lord Ganesha with choosing a political party was something that it did not find right.

Fort Bend Republican Party apologised saying the ad was not meant to hurt anybody's customs and sentiments.