He wrote on X: "Wonderfully apt! Warmest congratulations to my old friend @MiraPagliNair on her son@ZohranKMamdani
’s spectacular victory and to his uncles, my Stephanian friends Vicky and Gautam Nair, for their nephew’s triumph!"

New Yorkers elected Mamdani, a 34-year-old progressive, as their next mayor in a closely watched race.

Born in Uganda to acclaimed historian Mahmood Mamdani and director Mira Nair—best known for Salaam Bombay!—Zohran Mamdani’s rapid political rise has been both celebrated and criticised, with detractors labelling him a “nepo baby.”

Defying expectations, Mamdani, representing the Democratic Party’s progressive faction, defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican contender Curtis Sliwa.

“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this,” Mamdani told a jubilant crowd during his victory speech.