Ali Sethi vouches for NY mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani

Musician Ali Sethi cannot get enough of his friend and up and coming politician Zohran K. Mamdani. On Friday, Sethi posted a carousel on Instagram to show his support for Mamdani, who's a 2025 New York City mayoral election candidate.

"An absolutely inspirational campaign by my friend and brother Zohran K Mamdani for a better New York," wrote Sethi, applauding his friend's election campaign.

He added a message for those who felt dejected and disappointed with the situation in the city. "If (like me) you had given up hope, and were resigned to all kinds of grim scenarios ("no point resisting"), with Zohran you have a real chance at renewal: renewal of self, community, city, party, country."

He encouraged his fellow desi Americans to vote for Mamdani, who is the son of Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, Indian-Ugandan postcolonial studies professor at Columbia University.

"So get thee to a ballot and vote for Zohran," said Sethi, sprinkling his message with a bunch of ballot emojis to drive the point home.

In the carousel, he posted four photographs with the two of them in the first one showing a toothy smile. "The first pic of me and Zohran taken by his legendary mum [Nair]," he wrote.

He added, "And in the second pic, my mum is definitely giving him a lecture on Gandhian activism."

The second photo shows Sethi's mother, politician and journalist Jugnu Mohsin standing with Mamdani. It appears to be a humbling pose where she is giving him blessings; that much is visible from the expressions on Mamdani's face while Sethi himself stands behind his mother.

The third photo shows Mamndani and Mohsin in a hug while the fourth is a poster, part of Mamdani's campaign, which states, "Democrat for Mayor Zohran. For a New York you can afford." It states Mamndani's website and the voting date, June 24.

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and moved to New York with his family at the age of seven, considers himself a democratic socialist. He previously worked on an unsuccessful campaign for New York City Council candidate Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran minister and democratic socialist. He supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and has actively taken part in its protests.

His current campaign for mayorship include support for free city buses, a rent freeze for rent-stabilised housing, and city-owned grocery stores.