Kerala-born Nithya Raman makes history as first Indian-American mayor of Los Angeles

Keralaborn Nithya Raman has won the Los Angeles mayoral election becoming the first IndianAmerican to be elected to lead the city Incumbent Karen Bass conceded defeat and pledged to ensure a smooth transitionRamans victory puts the urban planner and city council member at the helm of Americas secondlargest city making her its first South Asian mayor The win marks a historic milestone in her political career which began with her election to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020Los Angeles I am deeply honoured to be your next mayor Raman wrote on X on ThursdayLos Angeles I am deeply honored to be your next mayor I just spoke with Mayor Bass and expressed my deepest gratitude for her leadership and decades of service Los Angeles would not be the city it is today without her I love this city I believe in its people The work ahead will be hard and change will take time And together we are going to build a future as extraordinary as the city we call home Thank you LA Letrsquos get to workmdash Nithya Raman nithyavraman November 5 2026The latest Los Angeles County election updates refreshed at 434 pm local time showed Raman securing 460772 votes accounting for 5270 per cent of the total against Basss 413519 votes or 4730 per centRamans lead stood at 47253 votes widening from the 34654vote advantage recorded during the morning count However the figures remained provisional as election officials continued processing ballots cast on TuesdayBasss formal concession followed by Ramans response effectively brought the contest to a close after the challenger had maintained a narrow lead in earlier counting updatesNithya Ramanrsquos journey from homelessness advocacy to making history as LA mayorIve called Councilmember Raman to congratulate her and Im committed to a smooth transition Bass said in a post on XThe outgoing mayor thanked her supporters and pledged to continue serving the city Raman meanwhile said she had spoken to Bass and expressed her appreciation for her leadership and years of public serviceRamans campaign focused on housing affordability addressing homelessness and improving municipal services According to LAist her promises also included better maintenance of streetlights and potholes along with structural reforms in policingBorn in India Raman moved to the United States with her family when she was six She studied at Harvard University and later earned a masters degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITBefore entering electoral politics she worked on issues related to homelessness and cofounded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless CoalitionRaman had earlier made history in 2020 by becoming the first AsianAmerican woman and the first South Asian elected to the Los Angeles City Council She secured another term in the 2024 electionsWith ANI inputs