Why some Hindu-Americans are opposing the first South Asian to run in New York’s mayoral poll

On Sunday afternoon, New Yorkers walking and cycling by the Hudson river were greeted with an unusual sight: a plane tugging a banner reading “Save NYC from Global Intifada. Reject Mamdani.”

This was part of a late-stage effort by a Hindu-American group opposing mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani three days before Tuesday’s Democratic Party “primary” election. They claim that Mamdani – the first South Asian to run to be New York’s mayor – has an “extremist agenda and history of hateful rhetoric”.

The son of filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran Mamdani is competing for the Democratic Party nomination for the mayoral race. In a city in which about two-thirds of voters are registered Democrats, the winner of this primary election is very likely to win the mayoral election in November.

Mamdani is currently a member of the New York state assembly. He is a member of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York.

A survey of Democratic early voters and likely voters released on Monday showed that Mamdani had a slight edge over his main rival, Andrew Cuomo. He has gained attention for proposals to provide free childcare, open city-owned stores to sell affordable groceries, make bus travel free and freeze rent for residents of rent-stablised apartments.

That is not what Indians for Cuomo, the group that sponsored the aerial banner, are opposing. Instead, they claimed in a statement that Mamdani has a “long pattern of inflammatory, divisive, and anti-minority statements”.

“We caught on to this very late in the game,” said Satya Dosapati, an activist with the Hindu group. “We waited too long to publicise [Mamdani’s views] and by the time we got around to it, his campaign had momentum.”

According to New York City campaign finance records, Indian Americans for Cuomo has spent money on digital truck campaigns, radio advertisements and a radio interview.

Advertisements sponsored by the group have declared “Stop Mamdani’s bigotry. Save NYC from Intifada” and “Protect NYC from Mamdani’s global intifada” set against a visual backdrop of violent protests. The ads featured a Palestinian flag in the background.

By using the word “intifada”, these advertisements and the aerial banner are drawing attention to Mamdani’s refusal during a podcast interview to condemn the phrase “globalise the intifada”. He said the slogan expressed “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights” for Palestinians.

Pro-Israel groups have seized on these comments, arguing the phrase represents a call to violence against members of their communities. An estimated 11.6% of New York’s residents are Jewish.

The radio ads by Indian Americans for Cuomo described Zohran Mamdani as a candidate who “wants to push a radical agenda risking New York city’s future”. In addition to highlighting Mamdani’s positions on Israel, the group is also irked by his views on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At a forum for mayoral candidates forum on May 15, Mamdani was asked whether he would meet with Modi if the Indian leader were to visit New York City. Mamdani responded by calling Modi a “war criminal”.

“Narendra Modi helped to orchestrate what was a mass slaughter of Muslims in Gujarat to the extent that [people] don’t even believe there are Gujarat Muslims anymore…” Mamdani said. “And this is someone we should view in the same manner that we view Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Indian Americans for Cuomo accuse Mamdani of selective outrage, claiming he is silent about Bangladeshi leader Mohammed Yunus and the attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

Alongside Indian Americans for Cuomo, the American Hindu Coalition – a pro-Donald Trump group whose stated mission is to “build a stronger America through Hindu Enlightenment Principles” – also endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral elections.

Cuomo had been the governor of New York state from 2011 to 2021, when he resigned after 13 women accused him of sexual harassment.

Mamdani’s campaign – which has an estimated 40,000 volunteers – has focused on an outreach to working-class voters. While several labour collectives have backed his candidacy, many Indian American groups have largely remained uncommitted through the mayoral campaign.

Among the Indian groups to endorse him was the American Indian Impact Fund, a political action committee that has backed over 200 Indian American politicians.

“This campaign is about more than just winning an election – it’s about changing who gets seen, heard, and prioritised in City Hall,” said Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact Fund. “The path to victory runs through the long-overlooked South Asian community, and we’re thrilled to help mobilise this vital and growing electorate.”

Many Indian American voters have come out in support of Mamdani’s campaign. Shivank Taksali, a marketing manager in the city, said he was drawn to Mamdani’s economic policies.

“I support his ideas to freeze the rent and make transit free,” said Taksali. “I saw a video post of him talking in Hindi and that really drew me to learn a bit more about his personality and background. As a Hindi speaker myself, I’ve never come across different languages like Hindi being used in previous mayoral campaigns.”

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