Zohran Kwame Mamdani (born October 18, 1991) is an American politician who is the mayor-elect of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he has served as a member of the New York State Assembly for the 36th district since 2021, representing the Queens neighborhood of Astoria. He is set to become the city's first Muslim and first South Asian mayor.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair. After spending three years in Cape Town, South Africa, when Mamdani was five to seven years old, the family moved to the United States, settling in New York. Mamdani graduated from the Bronx High School of Science before receiving a bachelor's degree with a major in Africana studies from Bowdoin College in 2014.
After working as a housing counselor and musician, Mamdani entered local New York City politics as a campaign manager for Khader El-Yateem and Ross Barkan. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, defeating five-term incumbent Aravella Simotas in the Democratic primary. Representing Astoria, he was reelected without opposition in 2022 and 2024.
In October 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. He campaigned on an affordability-focused platform supporting fare-free city buses, universal public child care, city-owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, additional affordable housing units, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030. He also expressed support for LGBTQ rights, comprehensive public safety reform, and tax increases on corporations and those earning above $1 million annually. He won the Democratic primary in June 2025, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in an upset, and was elected mayor in the November general election.
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman and former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India.
Mallya is a former owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore cricket team. The son of a businessman, he is the ex-chairman of United Spirits, the largest spirits company in India, and continues to serve as chairman of United Breweries Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests including beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate and fertilizer. He has been the chairman of Sanofi India (previously known as Hoechst AG and Aventis) and the chairman of Bayer CropScience in India for over 20 years, and the chairman of several other companies. Mallya was also the founder and former owner of defunct Kingfisher Airlines and former co-owner of the Force India Formula One team before it went into administration.
Vittal Mallya was the Chairman of United Breweries Group. Vijay Mallya was educated at La Martinière Calcutta, where he was appointed House Captain of Hastings house in his final year, and at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with honours) in 1976.
He is the ex-chairman of United Spirits, the largest spirits company in India, and continues to serve as chairman of United Breweries Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests including beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate and fertilizer. He has been the chairman of Sanofi India (previously known as Hoechst AG and Aventis) and the chairman of Bayer CropScience in India for over 20 years, and the chairman of several other companies.
In March 2016, a consortium of banks approached the Supreme Court of India to stop Mallya from going abroad due to the pending money his companies owed them. As per media reports, he had already left India. On 13 March 2016 a court in Hyderabad issued a non-bailable warrant for Mallya's arrest, but it appears he is remaining at his country estate near London, England, while his lawyer contests the warrant with a higher court. On 18 April 2016, a special court in Mumbai also issued an undated non-bailable arrest warrant against the businessman. This was issued in response to a plea by the Enforcement Directorate on 15 April before the special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. There were allegations on him that he transferred ?4,000 crore (US$560 million) to tax havens.
In June 2016, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) reported it had "provisionally attached" ?14.11 billion (US$200 million) rupees worth of Mallya's Indian assets and properties against unpaid loans totalling ?8.07 billion (US$110 million). On 3 September, it issued a second attachment order for a further ?66.30 billion (US$930 million) worth of Mallya's assets, including a farmhouse, shares in United Breweries and multiple flats in Bengaluru valued at ?5.65 billion (US$79 million). By December 2016, the ED has attached a total of ?96.61 billion (US$1.4 billion) worth of assets of Mallya and Kingfisher in India. This is one of the largest attachments of assets made by the ED in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case till now. The ED also decided to send letters rogatory (LR) to the US, the UK and Europe requesting them to assist it in attachment of Mallya's over ten foreign assets.
In July 2020, Indian media reported that Mallya had offered a settlement package of ?139.60 billion (US$2.0 billion) as against a total principal amount of ?90 billion (US$1.3 billion) to the consortium of Indian bankers pursuing litigation against him; this settlement was not accepted by the bankers.