Saikat Chakrabarti: Indian-Origin Democrat In Spotlight After Zohran Mamdani's Win

Zohran Mamdani's historic New York City mayoral election triumph has put the spotlight back on Indian-origin candidates who are running for office in the US. One of the people in the fray is Saikat Chakrabarti, who is running for Congress in San Francisco. The seat has long been held by Democratic stalwart Nancy Pelosi.

Recently, Pelosi, in a video address, said that she will not seek re-election in Congress, reigniting interest about who would succeed her. 

“I will not be seeking re-election to Congress. My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power. We have made history and progress, and we must continue to lead the way,” she said.

Thank you, San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/OP8ubeFzR6

— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) November 6, 2025

Who Is Saikat Chakrabarti?

He was born to Indian immigrant parents in Fort Worth, Texas. Chakrabarti studied Computer Science at Harvard from 2003 to 2007, as per his LinkedIn profile. He moved to San Francisco after university and started his own company before joining Stripe as a second engineer.

Chakrabarti left Stripe in 2016 and shifted his focus to politics. He joined Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in 2016 and travelled across the United States to build a grassroots movement for the Democratic leader. 

He also helped launch Justice Democrats, an initiative to recruit a new generation of leaders to Congress, his official website said. He also worked for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, later becoming her chief of staff. He was one of the people in charge of writing and launching the Green New Deal, a “framework for tackling our climate crisis and building a better world.”

Saikat Chakrabarti now leads New Consensus, a policy think tank devoted to developing plans on how the government can achieve economic security and prosperity for all Americans. He is also involved in non-profits such as the SF-Marin Food Bank, the Friends of Duboce Park, the Housing Accelerator Fund, and the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California. Saikat Chakrabarti lives in Duboce Triangle with his wife and daughter.