NEW YORK, Nov 5: Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old Indian-origin democratic socialist, secured a monumental victory in the New York City Mayoral election and immediately threw a direct challenge to President Donald Trump, signalling emergence of a new political order in the face of growing public discontent with the Republican leader’s second term in the White House.
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Mamdani, the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian-origin scholar Mahmood Mamdani, will be New York’s youngest Mayor in over a century, and the first Muslim and South Asian to lead the largest city in the US.
The charismatic leader defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a scandal-hit Democrat who ran as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, in the keenly-watched contest that grabbed global attention.
“I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this,” Mamdani told his jubilant supporters at Brooklyn Paramount Theater.
The Mayor-elect also sent a firm and direct message to the US President.
“Since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up,” Mamdani said, adding New York could show the rest of the country how to defeat the President.
His remarkable victory to run the city of more than 8.4 million people is laregly seen emergence of a new political order to challenge Trump’s consolidation of power, policies and authoritarian approach that have triggered wide-spread despair and disillusionment, especially in the context of rising costs of living and economic inequalities.
In his campaign, Mamdani vowed to prioritise working-class issues as he proposed initiatives like free childcare, rent-freeze, free bus services and Government-run grocery stores to make New York affordable to live.
In the nearly 25-minute speech, Mamdani described his victory as the dawn of a “new age” for New York and said “together, we will usher in a generation of change”.
“New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford,” the Uganda-born State lawmaker said.
He will be inaugurated as the 111th Mayor of New York in January. Currently a member of the Queens State Assembly, Mamdani emerged victorious, securing over 50 per cent of the votes. Cuomo, 67, who was endorsed by Trump trailed behind with just over 40 per cent votes while Sliwa garnered a mere seven per cent of the votes.
Cuomo ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June.
Besides winning the New York mayoral elections, the Democrats won gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, in outcomes largely seen as declining public support for Trump’s second term in Presidency. (PTI)
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