Nithya Raman’s husband, Vali Chandrasekaran, reportedly brought LA mayor-elect closer to Hollywood

Democratic socialist-backed candidate Nithya Raman won the Los Angeles mayor race after incumbent Karen Bass conceded. Nithya Raman, the Democratic socialist-backed candidate, defeated incumbent Karen Bass to win the Los Angeles mayor election. Bass conceded on Thursday.Nithya Raman met husband Vali Chandrasekaran when he was 17. (X/@liz_gar_cia)Raman, the Indian-born urban planner, first won a seat to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020. She's been an advocate for the homeless and was an ally of Bass at one point. With this win, Raman has become the first Los Angeles mayoral candidate to defeat an incumbent since 2005.The win sees Raman become mayor of the second-largest city in the US, which is known the world over for Hollywood. In this aspect, Raman's husband, Vali Chandrasekaran, has reportedly been of help, bringing her closer to the movie industry.What to know about Vali ChandrasekaranDeep DiveChandrasekaran is a veteran television writer and producer. He is known for being “unfailingly good-natured” and “deeply committed to a comedy bit,” a New York Times article noted.Raman's husband is known for his work on shows like Modern Family and 30 Rock. He's an alumnus of The Harvard Lampoon, the undergraduate humor publication from the Ivy League university.He met Raman when he was 17. The LA mayor-elect was a freshman at Harvard, and he was about to start there as well. The two crossed paths at an Indian classical dance performance near Harvard.Also Read | ‘We are all proud of her’: Thiruvananthapuram kin cheer Indian-origin Nithya Raman's historic win as Los Angeles mayorThough the two began dating in college, they broke up for a brief time, and Chandrasekaran eventually moved to Los Angeles, working for Boston Consulting Group by day and writing scripts at night. Raman, meanwhile, spent time in India working to improve life in urban slums, as per the report. The two now raise twins, aged 10, in Los Angeles’s Silver Lake neighborhood.Chandrasekaran said that he'd never thought he'd end up married to an elected official but has been supportive of Raman's campaign. His latest post on X is a message thanking outgoing mayor Bass, with a video statement from his wife attached below.How Vali Chandrasekaran helped Nithya RamanThe article went on to describe Chandrasekaran as a “secret weapon” for Raman, noting that through his work, she has an “intimate view” of how the implosion of Hollywood is straining businesses and families. This went on to shape her campaign as Raman has spoken a lot about plans to keep Hollywood jobs in Los Angeles. She also made it a point to hire local micro-drama producers to make ads.Speaking about Chandrasekaran's influence, Raman said, “His perspective has made the stakes impossible to ignore.”Many of Chandrasekaran's celebrity friends and bosses also ended up supporting Raman, becoming her campaign backers. This includes household names like Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling. The latter even posted a video on social media encouraging voters to vote for Raman. Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More