{"id":272,"date":"2026-06-18T23:12:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=272"},"modified":"2026-06-18T23:12:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:12:45","slug":"new-wfp-ad-attacks-rajkumar-as-modis-best-friend-in-queens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=272","title":{"rendered":"New WFP ad attacks Rajkumar as \u2018Modi\u2019s best friend in Queens\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The progressive Working Families Party\u2019s super PAC\u00a0 plans to release a series of digital ads on Friday taking aim at Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar\u2019s alleged ties to right-wing nationalists, City & State has learned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more These elected officials were pinching themselves at the Knicks parade<\/a><\/p>\n

The WFP has endorsed Rajkumar\u2019s democratic socialist primary challenger David Orkin.<\/p>\n

Rajkumar, who is the first Hindu and first South Asian woman elected to the state Legislature, currently represents Assembly District 38 in Queens, which covers part of Ridgewood, Glendale and Woodhaven. The district has one of the highest concentrations of South Asians and Indo-Caribbeans in the state, with diverse Muslim, Sikh and Hindu populations.<\/p>\n

Critics have accused Rajkumar of having ties to global political networks that support right-wing nationalist leaders like President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The new ads hammer home that message. \u201cModi\u2019s best friend in Queens?\u201d one ad asks, highlighting a tweet that Rajkumar sent in 2014 celebrating Modi\u2019s visit to New York City. \u201cJenifer Divides Us. David Unites Us.\u201d Another ad includes photographs of Trump, Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and states that \u201cJenifer Works For Them\u201d because she has received \u201cOver $100,000 in Donations From Their Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orkin is not South Asian himself, but a couple of the ads feature him with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The mayor, who won the district by 39 points in the primary last year, has not formally endorsed Orkin, though he has previously criticized Rajkumar for taking money from \u201cHindu fascists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ads are funded through an independent expenditure committee tied to the WFP called the WFP National PAC NYS IE. South Asian advocacy group DRUM Beats and progressive political strategist Amit Singh Bagga, advised on the ads.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur communities don’t need electeds like Jenifer Rajkumar who promote themselves through photo-ops, while actually working against our people\u2019s material interests \u2013 undermining tenants, catering to corporations, and serving right-wing movements both here and abroad,\u201d DRUM Beats Director Fahd Ahmed said in a statement. \u201cWe are excited about a choice for meaningful change with David Orkin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The bitter NY-21 primary highlights a fractured GOP<\/a><\/p>\n

Rajkumar\u2019s campaign accused the groups behind the ads of singling her out because of her religion. \u201cThe socialists know they are losing big in South Queens, so they are closing this campaign with desperation, hate, and religious bigotry,\u201d Rajkumar spokesperson Arvind Sooknanan said in a statement. \u201cThey cannot compete with Assemblywoman Rajkumar\u2019s record of uniting communities, delivering real results, and achieving historic wins for our families. So they are targeting her faith as the first Hindu ever elected to New York State office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sooknanan noted that many of the Modi supporters who donated to Rajkumar have also donated to other Democratic politicians. \u201cThese same Hindu donors have contributed to leaders across the Democratic Party, including Cory Booker, President Biden, and the DNC,\u201d he said. \u201cYet Assemblywoman Rajkumar is being singled out for one reason: she is Hindu.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singh Bagga said all Democrats, including Rajkumar, should return contributions from those donors. In a statement referencing her iconic red dress, he accused her of supporting division in the South Asian community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rajkumar Red is far more than just a dress; it\u2019s flashing red warning sign: Queens, you in danger, girl \u2013 a vote for me is a vote for the global right wing that is endangering our communities from South Queens to South Delhi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After City & State shared drafts of the ads with Rajkumar and asked her for comment, the Hindu American Foundation condemned the upcoming ad buy in a series of X posts. \u201cA shocking display of naked anti-Hindu hate & racism in New York Assembly election,\u201d the group, which has also been accused of supporting right-wing Hindu nationalism, wrote on X. \u201cTaking on the enormously popular @JeniferRajkumar, her @DemSocialists opponent, @david4queens resorts to dual loyalty slurs & attacks HAF regurgitating discredited @Wikipedia talking points.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: Juneteenth and the meaning of freedom<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The progressive group is supporting challenger David Orkin in the Queens Assembly race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,77],"tags":[66,79],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-new-york-state-elections","category-dsa","tag-2026-new-york-state-elections","tag-dsa"],"yoast_head":"\nNew WFP ad attacks Rajkumar as \u2018Modi\u2019s best friend in Queens\u2019 - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=272\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New WFP ad attacks Rajkumar as \u2018Modi\u2019s best friend in Queens\u2019 - 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