Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a 33- year old Queens lawmaker, has made history as New York City’s 111th mayor — becoming the first Muslim, first South Asian, and the youngest person in over a century to hold the office.
Zohran Mamdani, a Uganda-born, American naturalized citizen of Indian origin, didn’t miss the opportunity to showcase his Indian roots on his first day as the elected mayor.
Sharing a glimpse of his `busy first day` on social media, Mamdani posted a picture featuring Ocasio-Cortez enjoying Chai with Tibetan Tigmo bread, Aloo Dum and Chilli Chicken— a delightful ode to his South Asian heritage.
This isn’t the first time Mamdani has celebrated his Indian identity; during his victory speech, he even quoted India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Mamdani`s father is academician Mahmood Mamdani—an Indian-origin Gujarati Muslim born in Bombay—and filmmaker Mira Nair, a Punjabi Hindu. His family migrated from South Africa when he was five years old and later moved to the United States when he was seven, eventually settling in New York City.
On November 5, Mamdani clinched New York City`s mayoral race against Andrew Cuomo. He got 948,202 votes (50.6 per cent), with 83 per cent of the votes counted, meanwhile Andrew Cuomo garnered 776,547 votes (41.3 per cent) and Curtis Sliwa got 137,030 votes. He won the mandate with a left-wing agenda focused on making New York more affordable by campaigning against wealth inequality and promoting affordability.
