Number of Indian-Americans in Zohran Mamdani’s Transition Team

The New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has included a number of Indian Americans in his transition team

New York City: The New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has included a number of Indian Americans in his transition team.

Zohran Mamdani – first Muslim and first Indian American to have elected as the New York City Mayor, is set to take charge of office on January 01, 2026.

Before that he has announced a number of appointments as part of his transition team who will head different committees or serve as members.

The Indian Americans appointed by Zohran Mamdani are Lina Khan, Bhairavi Desai, Diya Vij, Meera Joshi, Kapil Longani, Mandeep Minhas, Shaifali Puri, Anisha Steephen, Ashna Shome, Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, Amit Singh Bagga, Sumathy Kumar, Faiza Ali, Santosh Nandabalan, Jagpreet Singh and Annetta Seecharran.

Who are these Indian Americans?

Zohran Mamdani has appointed Lina Khan as Transition Co-Chair (Economic Policy Focus). She has however refused to join the upcoming administration.

Lina Khan is widely considered a legal scholar. She had worked as Federal Trade Commission chair under then president Biden and served as counsel to the US House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. Professor Lina also teaches at Columbia Law School.

Diya Vij, Curator and executive at Powerhouse Arts; Indian American with roots in Delhi, specializing in South Asian contemporary art and cultural equity, has been appointed as Arts & Culture Committee Member.

Santosh Nandabalan, Executive at New York Communities for Change; Indian American organizer focused on tenant rights and worker justice in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods like Jackson Heights (a South Asian hub), has been appointed as Community Organizing head.

Among the Muslims, Indian American Faiza Ali is part of the 19-member Committee on Government Operations which also has Aliya Latif, Zara Nasir and Shafeka Hashash. While, 25-member Committee on Health has Tahir Amin and Musab Khan.

Muslim Americans and South Asians in Mamdani Team

Besides India Americans, Mamdani has also included in his team a number of Muslims and South Asians. Top among them is American-Pakistani criminal lawyer Ali Najmi. Najmi is the point man of the NYC Mayor-Elect who calls him "brother"

The 20-member Committee on Legal Affairs include Sania Khan, Seher Khawaja, Shaifuli Puri, Afaf Nasher, Tahanie Aboushi and Ramzi Kassem wherea 20-member Committee on Small Businesses comprises of Afzal Ali Ansari, Imran Pasha, Shah Rehman, Arman Chowdhury, Mohamed Attia and Youssef Mubarez.

Moreover, the 39-member Committee on Youth & Education has Tazin Azad, Zakiyah Shaakir Ansari and Hannah Towfeik.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

Select Language to Translate in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic