The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai chief Ameet Satam on Wednesday asserted that residents of the city “will not tolerate a Khan being imposed on them”, and alluded to Zohran Mamdani being elected as the New York City mayor.

“Considering the way the colours of some global cities are changing, and 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 said in a social media post.

He asserted: “If anyone tries to impose a ‘Khan’ on Mumbai, it will not be tolerated”.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mamdani became the first Muslim and South Asian to be elected as mayor of New York City.

Responding to Satam’s statement, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) spokesperson Anand Dubey said that the BJP leader’s “mental state has deteriorated”.

“From the day he became president, he realised he was about to be wiped out,” Dubey told ANI. “That’s why he’s been making bizarre statements about the mayor of Mumbai from day one.”

However, Dubey added that “only a Marathi Hindu will become the mayor of Mumbai”.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission on Tuesday announced elections for nagar panchayats and nagar parishads on December 2. Polling will be conducted using electronic voting machines and results will be declared on December 3.

The announcement...

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