Many South Asians and Muslims in NYC and beyond electrified by Mamdani’s mayoral primary triumph

The success of Zohran Mamdani in New York City s Democratic primary for mayor is euphoric for Hari Kondabolu a stand-up comedian who s been friends with the candidate for years Mamdani stunned the political establishment when he declared triumph in the primary on Tuesday a ranked choice voting in which his strongest competition former New York Gov Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat When he launched his campaign the unabashed democratic socialist ranked near the bottom of the pack Now the -year-old state assemblyman has a chance to be New York City s first Asian American and Muslim mayor Mamdani s family came to the United States when he was and he became a citizen in He was born to Indian parents in Kampala Uganda For Kondabolu this moment is not just exciting but emotional I think so a great number of of us have had those experiences in New York of being brown and in a city that has reliably been really diverse and feels like ours But after like you start to question it like is this our city too Kondabolu disclosed And years later it s surreal like this is the same city but it s not because we ve elected this person Mamdani s campaign has piqued the interest of plenty of Indian Pakistani and other South Asian Americans as well as Muslims even those who may not agree with Mamdani on every issue Despite that opposition particular still see his rise as a sign of hope in a city where racism and xenophobia erupted following the Sept terrorist attacks South Asians and Muslims riveted by primary in New York and beyond A large number of of New York City s over South Asian residents have been inspired by Mamdani s extraordinary trajectory My mom was texting her friends to vote for him I ve never seen my mother do that before Kondabolu revealed So the idea that it s gotten our whole family activated in this way this is like personal Snigdha Sur founder and CEO of The Juggernaut an online publication reporting on South Asians has been fascinated by the response from particular people in India and the diaspora So multiple global South Asians they re like Oh this guy is my mayor and I don t live in New York City Sur announced At the same time certain are also concerned or angered by Mamdani s past remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who he publicly called a war criminal In Michigan Thasin Sardar has been following Mamdani s ascent online When he first heard him he struck him as genuine and he felt an instant connection he noted As a Muslim American this win puts my trust back in the people revealed Sardar who was born and raised in India I am happy that there are people who value the candidate and his policies more than his personal religious beliefs and didn t vote him down because of the color of his skin or the fact that he was an immigrant with an uncommon name New York voter Zainab Shabbir explained family members in California and beyond have also excitedly taken note My family in California they were very much like Oh it s so nice to see a South Asian Muslim candidate be a mayor of a major city she commented A brother advised her Mamdani s rise is a great example for his kids she announced But the -year-old who donated voted and canvassed for Mamdani stated it was his vision for New York City that was the draw for her She and her husband briefly chatted with Mamdani at a charity fundraiser and she located him to be very friendly and genuine She defendants that for chosen who aren t very politically current Mamdani s political ascent could make a difference There s a lot of Muslim communities like my parents generation who are focused a lot more on the politics back home and less on the politics here in America mentioned Shabbir Seeing people like Zohran Mamdani be in office it ll really change that perspective in a lot of people Embracing Indian and Muslim roots Supporters and pundits agree that Mamdani s campaign has demonstrated social media savvy and authenticity He visited multiple mosques In videos he speaks in Hindi or gives a touch of Bollywood Other South Asian American politicians such as Democratic Rep Ro Khanna praised that I love that he didn t run away from his heritage I mean he did video clips with Amitabh Bachchan and Hindi movies Khanna noted referencing the Indian actor He shows that one can embrace their roots and their heritage and yet succeed in American politics But his triumph also reflects the urgency of the economic message the challenge that people are facing in terms of rent in terms of the cost of living and how speaking to that is so powerful the progressive California Democrat added Tanzeela Rahman a daughter of Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh mentioned she grew up very low income in New York I felt seen by him in a way politicians have not seen me ever the -year-old financial systems analyst disclosed I think very inadequate people in leadership understand how hard it is to survive in New York City She located Mamdani to be unabashedly Muslim and also a voice who literally to me sounds like a New Yorker who s stepping in and saying hey let s reclaim our power she declared While Mamdani has been speaking to the working class he had a somewhat privileged upbringing His mother is filmmaker Mira Nair and his father Mahmood Mamdani is a professor at Columbia University He lived in Queens but attended The Bronx High School of Science Even as a teen he cared about social justice Kondabolu the comedian recalled His campaign messaging on issues such as affordable housing and free bus rides might not resonate with South Asian households in New York City who have income levels above the median But the irony is that his campaign and great kind of soundbites earned help from that demographic too according to Sur It was I think a surprise that he did so well among the wealthiest including his own area Sur announced Mamdani s outspoken help for Palestinian causes and criticism of Israel and its military campaign in Gaza resonated with pro-Palestinian residents including Muslims but caused tension in the mayor s race Specific of his positions and remarks on the charged issue have drawn recriminations from opponents and specific Jewish groups though he s also been endorsed by particular Jewish politicians and activists Racism and xenophobia Mamdani s success this instant elicited strong anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric from particular high-profile conservatives on social media including conservative media personality Charlie Kirk who posted that legal immigration can ruin your country In response Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost the youngest member of Congress tweeted For years they sold people the lie of we have no matter if you come the right way His supporters aren t concerned that racism and Islamophobia will distract from Mamdani s campaign Those feelings clearly weren t enough for him to lose the primary Kondabolu disclosed There s a new generation that wants their voice heard and that generation came out in full force not just by voting but by like getting all these other people to be emotionally invested in this candidate Kondabolu declared That s extraordinary Associated Press writer Matt Brown in Washington contributed to this document Associated Press religion coverage receives advocacy through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content Source