Shahana Hanif, a Bangladeshi-origin woman, has won the primary election for the New York City Council in the United States. As a Democratic Party candidate, she defeated Republican Party candidate Maya Kornberg, according to a report by the influential US newspaper The New York Times.

The New York City Board of Elections declared Shahana the winner after the election on Tuesday (June 24). The final election will be held on November 4. Shahana Hanif is expected to win that election as well.

After winning the primary election, Shahana Hanif said, “My voters elected me in a difficult election. They elected Johan (Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani) as mayor to make this city beautiful. Our goal is the same. We dream of a beautiful New York City. I will continue to work as I promised, to the best of my ability, and with childcare as before. I will try so that no one else is forced to leave this city.”

Shahana Hanif has won one of the 51 districts in New York City, USA. After her victory in the primary election, the influential US newspaper The New York Times reported on her.

The report said that Shahana’s victory is a new wave in Brooklyn’s political consciousness. This election was won by a people built on the unity of young volunteers and small donors, against massive financial resources.

Shahana Hanif’s father, Mohammad Hanif, said that they came to New York from Fatikchhari, Chittagong in 1979. They first lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, and later moved to Kensington. However, Shahana was born in Brooklyn. She received higher education in sociology and women’s rights from McGill University in Canada. The seeds of her political consciousness were planted there. In 2021, at the age of 29, she was elected as the first Muslim woman of Bangladeshi origin to be elected to the New York City Council.