New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, defending his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said it is because he grew up with a vision of India that is in contrast to that of the Indian PM and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In an address to the Hindu American community at a Diwali event, Zohran Mamdani said he grew up with the vision of an India that celebrated pluralism, adding that the vision of Modi and the BJP of an India “only has room for certain kinds of Indians.”

Mamdani visited several Hindu temples in Queens on the occasion of Diwali.

“So, I have been critical of Mr. Modi because of the vision that I grew up with was of an India that was pluralistic, an India where everyone belonged, no matter their religion. And my critique has been of Mr. Modi and the BJP political party for their vision of an India that only has room for certain kinds of Indians, and it’s part of a belief that pluralism is something to be celebrated, something to be strived for,” said Mamdani, who in past remarks has publicly called a PM Modi a “war criminal.”

Mamdani, pitching himself for the New York City mayor post, said he will look to represent everyone similarly, even those who oppose him for his views of PM Modi.

“And I also know that I’m running to be the mayor of New York City – eight and a half million people – many of whom may feel differently than me about Mr. Modi, and that’s their right, and I will look to represent them all the same, because my responsibility to them as New Yorkers is to ensure that they are safe, to ensure they can afford this city,” Mamdani said.

A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani is fighting the New York mayoral election which is scheduled for November 4.

Mamdani would be New York City’s first Muslim and first mayor of South Asian descent if elected in November.

Democratic candidate Mamdani’s challenger in the New York City mayor election is former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.