'We are close to making NYC's first South Asian mayor': Zohran Mamdani uses Indian card to please voters, promises for rent relief and free buses
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Zohran Mamdani, one of the candidates in the New York City mayoral election, has used the Indian card to grab the attention of the voters.
Mamdani, an Indian-Ugandan-American, has released a video in which he is speaking in Hindi and promising to give rent relief, free buses, and affordable groceries.
In a post n X, he shared the video with the caption, "Billionaires already have everything. Now, your time has come."
In the video, Mamdani used some reference to few Bollywood film. It seems that he is trying to attract the Indian descendants or Indian origin to win the mayoral election, in his video Indian-American film director Mira Nair's son said, "Brothers and sisters, only 20 days are left in the election, and the choice is between me and Andrew Cuomo.
If you're just turning in, this is all Andrew Cuomo is offering building, property, bank balance, a mansion, a car- what do you have? (referring to Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor starring film 'Deewar') You.
"
"Because of you, we've raised 8 million dollars, knocked on over 600,000 doors, and we are this close to making this city's first South Asian mayor. But the point isn't what I will become — the point is what I will do for our communities and for every New Yorker.
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I will make our city affordable — New York is becoming almost unaffordable. I am fighting to change the basics of food, clothing, and shelter. Through rent relief, free buses, universal childcare, and affordable groceries," he said in the video.
In the video, he made very clear to not vote for Andrew Cuomo. He claimed that Cuomo's campaign is being run with money from Trump's donors. If he wins, NYC will also be theirs, along with DC.
"If you don't believe me, listen to him yourself — if Cuomo wins, there will be food, drinks, a wedding in the family, everything. Virginians already have everything. Billionaires already have everything. Now, your time has come"
he added.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani, a New York state assembly member, is an Indian-Ugandan-American who became a US citizen after 2016 -- during Donald Trump's first term. Mamdani's father Mahmood Mamdani is an India-born Ugandan academic and his mother Mira Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker.
In 2019, Mamdani campaigned for Bernie Sanders for 2020 and said he was excited, as 2020 would be his first presidential vote as he was not a US citizen in 2016. "I couldn't vote for @BernieSanders in 2016 because I wasn't a citizen yet, but I can't wait for my first presidential vote to be for him in 2020. And I'm even more excited to share a ballot with him and help build the political revolution from Albany to Washington," Mamdani wrote in his 2019 post which became a flashpoint.
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