Who Is Zohran Mamdani? Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair's son contesting for New York City mayor elections; all you need to know

Zohran Mamdani, 33, an Assembly man of Indian origin from Queens, currently serving as a member of the New York State Assembly. A democratic socialist, he is contesting in the upcoming New York state elections for the mayor post, scheduled for June 24.He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda. He moved to New York City with his family at the age of 7 and became a naturalized US citizen in 2018.His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a renowned Ugandan author and his mother, Mira Nair, is an Indian-American filmmaker.Mamdani is a graduate of the NYC Public School System. He also attended the Bronx High School of Science and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College.He is the first South Asian man to serve in the New York State Assembly, as well as the first Ugandan and only the third Muslim ever elected to the body.Before his political career, he worked as a housing counselor, helping low-income families in Queens by providing guidance on homeownership, renting, financial management, and how to avoid losing their homes.He is running against several high-profile candidates, including Adrienne Adams, Speaker of the New York City Council; Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund executive; and Andrew Cuomo, former Governor of New York.

“This campaign is for every person who believes in the dignity of their neighbors and that the government’s job is to actually make our lives better,” Mamdani endorsed for his election campaign.

Radical stance on Israel:

In an interview on Fox5, “Good Day New York,” Mamdani opposed Israel’s right to exist — as a Jewish state.“Because I’m not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else,” he told anchor Rosanna Scotto.“In the way we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world,” he added.

Slammed for remarks on PM Modi:

Mamdani has previously been criticized for his remarks against PM Modi and anti- Hindu stance. He was asked a hypothetical question that if Indian PM Narendra Modi holds a rally in Madison Square Garden and then wants to address a joint press conference with the mayor of New York, would he join that? To this he replied he won't join. Mamdani elaborated on his answer and said his father is a Gujarati Muslim, and then compared the Indian PM with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Played "India card" with recent election campaign video:

Recently, Mamdani made headlines for launching his election campaign in Bollywood style, speaking in Hindi in a 2-minute-23-second video.

His campaign video quickly went viral on social media. It received backlash from several social media users and blamed him for using "India card" to win votes. One user commented, " Shame on you for spreading antisemitism and Hinduphobia. You don’t represent New York City, you represent division and hate. Your actions are a disgrace, and it’s clear you’re only appealing to the lowest common denominator."