Maharashtra: Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam, in response to Zohran Mamdani’s landmark victory in New York City’s mayoral election, stated, “We will not allow any Khan to become mayor.” He also called it a case of ‘vote jihad.’
In his landslide victory, Mamdani had defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim mayor of the city.
Satam took to X after Mamdani’s win to warn Mumbaikers of similar results in Mumbai city.
“Just as the colour of some international cities is changing, after seeing the surnames of some mayors and witnessing the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s vote jihad, it seems necessary to stay cautious in the context of Mumbai…!”
Satam warned that “If someone tries to impose a ‘Khan’ on Mumbai, it will not be tolerated. Wake up, Mumbaikars…!”
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Anish Gawande responded strongly to his statement, “Amit ji, the colour of international cities isn’t changing, your colour changed the day you took over the Mumbai BJP presidency.”
He added, “Don’t forget that the army of Shivaji, who killed Afzal Khan, also included Siddi Ibrahim Khan and Daulat Khan. Keep your politics of hatred outside Mumbai.”
Maharashtra Congress leader Sachin Sawant also slammed the saffron party, accusing it of using distraction as a tool to shift the focus away from its failures.
He stated that Mumbai is facing huge problems and that “people aren’t just living, they’re just surviving.”
“There’s corruption everywhere, gutters without covers, toilets without doors,” and “traffic has brought Mumbai to a standstill.”
“BJP leaders can’t answer for the sins they’ve committed over the years, so, just like every election, they want to paint this one with Hindu-Muslim colours”, Sawant argued.
Previously, during a BJP event in September, Satam had declared, “The battle is to keep Mumbai safe. International countries are being infiltrated, and their colours are changing. Look at the surnames of mayors of some cities. Do we want that pattern in Mumbai?”
He cautioned against ‘Khan’ being elected in every ward, and commented that in Muslim-majority areas, such influence could be spread, stating that, “tomorrow, a Bangladeshi could be on the doorstep of Mumbaikars.”
Zohran Mamdani’s views on PM Modi
Zohran Mamdani is known to have called out Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots as a ‘war criminal’, comparing him to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mamdani received his fair share of Islamophobic comments during and well after the Mayoral race. Opposition forces made his name a running joke, with many refusing to pronounce it correctly.
Andrew Cuomo repeatedly referenced him as ‘Hamas Zohran’ during debates and campaign ads, accusing Zohran of turning the City Hall into a mosque. Donald Trump, too, on Truth Social, wrote, “Radical Muslim Zohran wants to impose SHARIA LAW on NYC. We cannot let Manhattan become Mecca!”
Mamdani has been vocal about his immigrant and Muslim roots. In his victory speech, he reaffirmed this by saying, “I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this.”
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