Synopsis: When Arya Rajendran was elected the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram City five years ago, Zohran Mamdani took note and asked a question: So what kind of mayor does NYC need right now? New York has now answered the question.

Come 1 January 2026, Zohran Kwame Mamdani will be New York City’s first millennial mayor.

His election has an uncanny connection to Thiruvananthapuram city, which had the youngest mayor in India when Arya Rajendran was made the city’s first citizen at the age of 21.

At 34, Mamdani is not New York City’s youngest mayor; that credit goes to Hugh J Grant, who became the mayor at 31 in 1889.

Republicans pointed to Democrat Mamdani’s “tender” age during the campaign, saying his election would be a disaster. Still, New York stood by him.

Mamdani mentioned a “change

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