The 45-year-old City Councilwoman, originally from Kerala, has emerged as the surprise frontrunner against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the race to lead America’s second-largest cityIn a historic electoral milestone, Indian-origin City Councilwoman Nithya Raman is projected to win the Los Angeles mayoral race, pulling ahead of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass as fresh vote figures were published on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Times.As counting continued through Wednesday, Raman, 45, was leading Bass, 73, with 51.1 per cent of the votes against 48.33 per cent. However, election analysts cautioned that the closely fought contest remained too close to call.The race has drawn attention to the major challenges confronting the nation’s second-most populous city, with homelessness, public safety and affordable housing emerging as key voter concerns.A Berkeley IGS and Los Angeles Times poll conducted between October 19 and 25 found that around 40 per cent of likely voters considered reducing homeless encampments a top priority for the next mayor. About 30 per cent said improving public safety or building more affordable housing should be among the administration’s key focuses.Who is Nithya Raman?Born in Kerala in 1981, Raman moved to the United States with her family when she was six years old. She became a US citizen at the age of 22.Raman completed her undergraduate studies at Harvard University and later earned a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).Before entering Los Angeles politics, she founded Transparent Chennai, an urban research organisation focused on improving sanitation and civic amenities.After moving to Los Angeles in 2013, Raman worked with the city’s administrative officer, helped establish the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition and later served as executive director at Time’s Up Entertainment.At her election night party on Tuesday, Raman addressed cheering supporters at the Greek Theatre plaza but stopped short of declaring victory.”I’m hopeful. I’m very hopeful,” Raman told the crowd. “I’m also really superstitious. So we’re all just going to be cool, OK? Very cool.”If the projection holds, Raman’s victory would mark a major political upset, unseating Bass and placing the Indian-origin urban planner at the helm of one of America’s most influential cities.