Nithya Raman, born in Kerala, becomes a Los Angeles major

Nithya Raman, the newly elected mayor of Los Angeles, USA, has roots in Kerala and has experience piloting effective civic activism in many Indian cities. Among the many Indian-origin candidates who have made waves in the US this election cycle, Ms Raman defeated incumbent Mayor Karen Bass to take over the US’s second most populous city after New York. The 45-year-old is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Born in Kerala, she spent the early years of her life between Thiruvananthapuram, the hometown of her father Venkataraman, and Thrissur, the birthplace of her mother Sudha. Her father, who used to work for Keltron, and mother, a former employee of Indian Overseas Bank, immigrated to the US for better opportunities when Nithya was six years old.

She graduated from Harvard University in 2003 with a degree in social studies and then a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ms. Raman, who became an American citizen at the age of 22, later spent several years in India, particularly in Chennai, where she led Banner Chennai, which pushed the government to provide better sanitation in slum areas through data-driven programs. She was also part of the protests against the eviction of slum dwellers in Delhi.

After returning to the US in 2013, she worked in the city office and was also involved in activism in the field of solving homelessness. In 2019, she made a political leap by announcing her candidacy for the Los Angeles City Council. Local campaigning on homelessness and the environment, using a wide network of volunteers, paid off as she was elected to the City Council in 2020. Her Mayoral campaign focused on creating more affordable homes in Los Angeles, improving city services, and fixing the film business in Los Angeles.

Published – 05 Nov 2026 21:25 IST