Americans voted on Tuesday under the shadow of a surging coronavirus pandemic to decide whether to re-elect Republican Donald Trump, one of the most polarizing presidents in US history, or send Democrat Joe Biden to the White House.
Amid the nail-biting battle, filmmaker Mira Nair's son, Zohran Kwame Mamdani has won a seat in the New York State Assembly, becoming one of the first South Asians to do so. The 29-year-old Democratic Socialist ran unopposed to represent New York's 36th Assembly District in Astoria, a neighbourhood in Queens.
Announcing his victory, Zohran Mamdani tweeted, "It's official: we won. I'm going to Albany to fight to tax the rich, heal the sick, house the poor & build a socialist New York. But I can't do it alone. To win socialism, we'll need a mass movement of the multiracial working class as well. So let's build one. Join @nycDSA."
Here's all you need to know about American-Indian filmmaker Mira Nair's son:
Zohran Mamdani is an Indian-Ugandan politician, housing counselor and a rapper. The hip-hop artist who hails from Kampala, moved to the United States at the age of seven. He graduated from the Bowdoin College in 2014 and now works as a housing counselor, helping immigrant families facing eviction stay in their homes.
Talking about his decision of running for the Sttae Assembly, Mamdani on his website wrote, "I am running for State Assembly because it’s time to guarantee housing to all New Yorkers as a right, regardless of ability to pay. It’s time to desegregate our schools, fully eliminate cash bail, ban solitary confinement, fund and fix the MTA, end workplace discrimination, and fight for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice for the many, not the few."
Highlighting his Indian roots Zohran Mamdani began his campaign last year and added a desi twist to the popular Democratic socialist slogan -'bread and roses' - with 'roti and roses'.
Zohran's primary goals are guaranteed housing and healthcare for all and defunding the NYPD, "the racist police system that’s working exactly as designed - as a means of control over black and brown New Yorkers."
