admin
New York City Council member Shekar Krishnan shared a striking memory on social media as fellow Indian-origin lawmaker Zohran Mamdani was elected the city’s 111th mayor. Krishnan recalled how both were arrested four years ago for civil disobedience during a protest demanding debt relief for taxi workers.
Posting an old photo showing the two being led away in handcuffs by NYPD officers, Krishnan wrote, “Just over four years ago, Zohran and I were arrested for civil disobedience — fighting for debt relief for taxi workers. Zohran has always been a fighter. Tomorrow, we will elect him to be our next mayor. Proud to do this work with you, brother.”
Krishnan, a Democrat, made history as the first Indian-American elected to the New York City Council in 2021. Representing Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, and Woodside in Queens — among the most diverse immigrant communities in the world — he was re-elected in 2023.
Mamdani, 34, a state lawmaker from Queens and an avowed democratic socialist, clinched a decisive victory Tuesday to become New York’s 111th mayor — and its first Muslim and South Asian leader. His grassroots campaign energised younger and working-class voters, driving turnout to levels not seen in half a century.
Record turnout
In an era of dwindling voter participation across the country, New York City bucked the trend with a historic surge in turnout during Tuesday’s mayoral election — the most since the 1960s.
As per a report by NOWmore than 2 million New Yorkers cast their ballots, nearly doubling the 1.1 million who voted in the previous mayoral race four years ago. In parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, turnout reached levels typically seen only in presidential elections.
At the centre of this surge was Mamdani, whose campaign ignited unprecedented enthusiasm across the five boroughs. He became the first candidate since John V. Lindsay in 1969 to secure over 1 million votes in a New York City mayoral race. Though total turnout in 1969 — 2,458,203 — still slightly surpassed Tuesday’s numbers, the scale of civic engagement marked a remarkable revival of the city’s political energy.
