Who Is Arya Rajendran, India's Youngest Mayor, Cited By NYC's Mamdani In Now-Viral Post?
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Mamdani's 2020 post about CPI(M) leader Arya Rajendran, who became India's youngest mayor at the time, became viral after he won the race for New York Mayor.
Zohran Mamdani, 33, stunned political circles in the United States by defeating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as the Democratic establishment to win the party's primary for mayor – in what is being described as a political earthquake in the US. However, his victory put the spotlight on Kerala politician, Arya Rajendran.
Mamdani, the son of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, is on course to become the first Muslim Mayor of New York. His campaign focused on everyday economic issues like housing, transportation, child care and food prices. Mamdani attracted the scorn of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) base over his socialist rhetoric and religion.
US President Donald Trump slammed his victory, calling him a '100% Communist Rhetoric". Mamdani's views on Israel – whom he has accused of committing a 'genocide' in Gaza – did not sit well with Republicans and some Democrats.
Who Is Arya Rajendran?
However, attention has turned to Mamdani's 2020 post on CPI(M) leader Arya Rajendran, who at the time became the youngest Mayor in the country and took charge of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
Rajendran is a prominent leader from Kerala's Nair community who created history by becoming the youngest mayor anywhere in the world in 2020 at the age of 21, breaking the records of Sabitha Beegum becoming Kollam mayor at 23 and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis becoming Nagpur mayor at 27.
In the 2020 civic elections, Rajendran won from Mudavanmugal ward in the city, defeating her nearest Congress rival by a margin of 549 votes. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front bagged 51 seats, BJP 34, UDF ten seats and others five in the election. She is married to CPI(M) MLA Sachin Dev.
In 2023, Rajendran made headlines after a photo of her working from her office with her one-month-old baby went viral. She was inducted into the CPI(M)'s Thiruvananthapuram District Committee in 2024.
Why Is Mamdani's Post Going Viral?
Mamdani had then retweeted a post from the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s Puducherry committee congratulating Rajendran for her achievement, writing 'them: so what kind of mayor does nyc need right now? me:"
them: so what kind of mayor does nyc need right now?me: https://t.co/XEuvK6VvOc
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 27, 2020
This post showing his early political ambitions is being highlighted now to claim that Mamdani is a communist. 'Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think Arya Rajendran would be a matter of discussion in the New York mayoral election," a user wrote on X.
Several right-wing politicians and influencers also branded him as a 'communist", claiming he will destroy New York with his liberal and progressive agenda. Mamdani has also been criticised for his views on India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
First Published:
June 27, 2025, 08:18 IST
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