New York, Jan 20 (TIWN) US President Joe Biden has declared categorically that Vice President Kamala Harris will be his running mate squashing questions about her future on the eve of their completing the first year in office.

"Yes," he said emphatically on Wednesday when asked by a reporter at a news conference.  He was asked to expand on the terse reply by the reporter who queried: "You put Vice President Harris in charge of voting rights. Are you satisfied with her work on this issue and can you guarantee, can you commit that she will be your running mate in 2024 provided that you run again?"  "There is no need to (expand)," Biden said, but went on to add: "She is going to be my running mate, Number 1; and Number 2, I put her in charge (voting rights) and she is doing a good job."  Harris has herself dismissed as "gossip" and "punditry" the rumours questioning her place on the 2024 Democratic ticket.  After being sworn in last year as the first Vice President of Indian and African descent, she proudly spoke of her Indian American mother Shyamala Gopalan and her "chithis" (younger maternal aunts) and said: "We are bold, fearless, and ambitious. We are undaunted in our belief that we shall overcome; that we will rise up."  Now comes the challenge of rising up to meet the swirling questions about her performance and future.  According to the RealClear Politics average of polls, 50.3 per cent disapprove of her performance – slightly less than the 53.3 per cent who disapprove of Biden.  Only 39.7 per cent approve of Harris's performance.