Two Indian-Americans Scripts History! Becomes first South Asians to be elected for New York State Assembly
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New York, November 05: Scripting history, two Indian Americans - Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar - won the seats in the New York state assembly. It made them the first South Asians voted into the lower house of the state Legislature.
There are more than 300,000 South Asians in New York City, and this is the first time the community has elected a desi representative. Democrats Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar will represent parts of Queens that are largely made up of immigrants. Both Democrats from Queens, Jenifer Rajkumar won 66 percent of votes and Zohran Mamdani won 72 percent.
Jenifer Rajkumar
Rajkumar, Democratic Nominee for NY State Assembly. She won her primary in the state election cycle and defeated Republican Giovanni Perna on Tuesday. She is a Stanford-educated lawyer and immigrant-rights advocate who will represent parts of Queens in the state legislature. The 38th Assembly District includes Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, and Glendale.
Front page of @QueensChronicle today on our victory! pic.twitter.com/tYd2mPuEpn
— Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (@JeniferRajkumar) July 23, 2020
Rajkumar is a lawyer and a professor at the City University of New York and she is also a former New York state government official. According to her profile on her website, Rajkumar has early roots in public service.
She graduated from Stanford Law School with distinction for her pro bono legal work on behalf of vulnerable individuals. Her parents immigrated to the United States from India and settled in the Queens neighborhood of New York.
— Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (@JeniferRajkumar) November 3, 2020
Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani, son of Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair. He is a first-time candidate for elected office and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, or DSA. He was among several DSA-backed candidates who successfully defeated incumbents in the June 23 primary, such as tenant organizer Marcela Mitaynes and nurse Phara Souffrant Forrest, who both defeated longtime Brooklyn assembly members. It was first in 2019 that he had announced his campaign for New York State Assembly in the 36th district, which encompasses Astoria and Long Island City in Queens.
It's official: we won.
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 4, 2020
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. pic.twitter.com/kzgplFgIJL
Zohran is an Indian-Ugandan-American politician, housing counselor, and hip-hop artist. Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York City He went to Bronx Science for high school, graduated from Bowdoin College, and now works as a housing counselor, helping immigrant families facing eviction stay in the homes they worked in their whole lives to earn.
Zohran is the son of Mira Nair who is one of the most renowned filmmakers. She also knows for her directorial in A Suitable Boy which is currently streaming on Netflix.
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the NY state legislature, the state Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
