Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral win draws flak from Kangana, Congress’s Singhvi

Zohran Mamdani’s win over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for the city’s mayoral race has triggered criticism from political rivals in India, with Members of Parliament from both the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking exception to the mayoral candidate’s views.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi remarked that “Pakistan’s PR takes the day off” when Mr. Mamdani speaks, while BJP Lok Sabha MP Kangana Ranaut said the Indian-origin lawmaker “sounds more Pakistani than Indian.”

Mr. Mamdani, the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, who is of Gujarati origin, was declared the winner of the Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night.

“When Zohran Mamdani opens his mouth, Pakistan’s PR team takes the day off. India doesn’t need enemies with ‘allies’ like him shouting fiction from New York,” Mr. Singhvi said in a post on social media platform X.

Ms. Ranaut, an MP from Mandi, echoed the sentiment, writing, “His mother is Mira Nair, one of our best filmmakers, Padma Shri, a beloved and celebrated daughter born and raised in great Bharat based in New York. She married Mehmood Mamdani (Gujarati origin), a celebrated author, and obviously son is named Zohran — he sounds more Pakistani than Indian.”

“Whatever happened to his Hindu identity or bloodline and now he is ready to wipe out Hinduism, wow! It’s the same story everywhere. On a different note, met Mira ji on a couple of occasions — congratulations to the parents,” she added.

Ms. Ranaut’s remarks were in response to an earlier post on X showing Mr. Mamdani participating in a protest in New York against the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.