From endorsing to defeating: Indian-origin Nithya Raman stuns Karen Bass in Los Angeles mayoral race

Raman, a member of the Los Angeles City Council, entered the mayoral race in February, weeks after publicly endorsing Bass.

After Raman's win, the US got another Indian-origin Mayor after Zohran Mamdani won the race in New York last year.

A contest marked by political and generational differences

The election gradually evolved into a battle reflecting generational and political differences, with the two candidates clashing over their approaches to key issues, including public safety, affordable housing and homelessness.

Raman had been critical of Bass's handling of the 2025 Palisades wildfire and the city's ongoing homelessness crisis.

In campaign strategy too, the two candidates had followed contrasting approaches.

While Bass concentrated more on the elderly people visiting senior centres and dancing with elderly couples, Raman kept it focussed on the youth as she campaigned heavily in bars, nightclubs and college campuses.

Who is Nithya Raman?

Nithya Raman is an urban planner, a graduate of Harvard and MIT, a working mother, an immigrant to America, and a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing District 4.

After serving several years as the Co-Chair of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Homelessness Committee, as well as co-founding the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, Nithya felt there was a gap between city services and the expanding homelessness crisis — a gap she was equipped to fill.

She ran for City Council in 2020 and won a historic victory, becoming the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian ever to serve on the City Council. In March 2024, she was decisively elected to a second term.

Nithya lives in Silver Lake with her husband Vali Chandrasekaran and young twins Karna and Kaveri.