Who is Saikat Chakrabarti? Another Indian-origin rising star in US politics after Mamdani

After Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York City, another Democrat is eyeing a big spot in US politics. Indian-origin Saikat Chakrabarti’s prospects received a boost after Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement, paving the way for him to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for the San Francisco Congressional seat.

Harvard-alumni Chakrabarti is known for his progressive and bold policies like wealth tax, and aims to transform the Democratic Party.

With ideas resonating with Mamdani’s, Chakrabarti has similar plans for San Francisco. He took to X to explain why Mamdani’s win was inspirational.

“Zohran proved it doesn’t matter how much money they throw at you. Organised people beat organised money if you stand for real change. We’re doing that in SF. 2k+ volunteers have knocked 40k+ doors because our campaign is about bold change,” said Chakrabarti in the video.

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Who is Saikat Chakrabarti?

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Indian immigrant parents, Saikat Chakrabarti moved to San Francisco in 2009 after graduating from Harvard University, where he founded a tech company and later joined Stripe as its second engineer. 

Driven by a passion for public service, he left the tech world to join Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign, helping build its groundbreaking grassroots platform.

He co-founded Justice Democrats, recruiting a new wave of progressive leaders including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose 2018 campaign he managed before serving as her Chief of Staff and helping craft the Green New Deal.

Now, Chakrabarti leads a policy think tank focused on building a clean and equitable economy and is active in several San Francisco nonprofits. He lives in Duboce Triangle with his wife and daughter.