Zohran Mamdani has made history by becoming the first Indian-origin, South Asian, and Muslim to serve as the Mayor of New York City. Back in 2020, Mamdani helped make India’s youngest mayor, Arya Rajendran from Thiruvananthapuram, go viral through a simple retweet.

That year, he shared a post from CPI(M) Puducherry which showed what kind of leadership New York City should aspire to. The post read, “Comrade Arya Rajendran, age 21, new Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. She will be the youngest mayor of a major city in the world.” Mamdani reshared it on X, asking, “So what kind of mayor does NYC need right now?”

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Following Mamdani’s electoral victory, Arya Rajendran congratulated him with a message on X that read, “Warmest congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on your election as the 111th mayor of New York City! Your victory is a powerful testament that progressive, leftist ideals of justice and equity continue to inspire and reaffirm their relevance across the globe. It speaks of how humans who care about each other and the planet choose people-centric governance, from Kerala to New York. We would be honoured to welcome you to Thiruvananthapuram to see our own people’s planning model in action. Looking forward to the possibility of your visit.”

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Who is Arya Rajendran?

Born in 1999, Arya Rajendran created history in 2020 when she was elected Mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation at the age of 21, making her the youngest mayor in India’s history. She surpassed the previous record held by Devendra Fadnavis, now the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who became the Mayor of Nagpur at 27.

Rajendran’s achievement drew praise from several prominent figures, including Kamal Haasan, Shashi Tharoor, and Gautam Adani. A member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), she won from the Mudavanmugal ward during the 2020 Kerala local body elections.

A Mathematics graduate and her political journey began early, she joined Balasangham, the children’s wing of the CPI(M), while in fifth grade and later rose to become its state president.

Over the years, she has also served as a state committee member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and as an area committee member of the CPI(M) in Thiruvananthapuram’s Chala.

Rajendran is married to CPI(M) MLA Sachin Dev, who holds the distinction of being the youngest legislator in the current Kerala Assembly. In 2023, she gained national attention when a photograph of her working in her office with her one-month-old baby went viral.