Democrat and young leftist Zohran Mamdani won the city’s mayoral election in New York on Tuesday (local time), making history by becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor of Indian origin.
Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in on January 1. He will become the youngest person to hold the office in a century, replacing first-term mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race amid low poll numbers and a series of scandals.
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Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, received 50.3% of the vote, leading by more than 8 points over former governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary, with 96% of the vote counted. Anti-crime crusader and Republican Curtis Sliwa won 7.1%.
What am I Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Mamdani is the son of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor and colonialism scholar Mahmood Mamdani, who was born in Uganda.
Mamdani moved to New York at the age of 7, attended Bronx High School of Science and Bowdoin College in Maine, and tried several careers, including as a rap artist, working on his mother’s films, and as a foreclosure prevention consultant at the non-profit organization Chhaya, before turning to politics.
He became a naturalized US citizen in 2018 and won election to the Assembly for the first time in 2020, representing a district in western Queens.
The principles of Zohran Mamdani
What are Zohran Mamdani’s policies on immigration, housing, the Israel-Hamas war, and foreign relations?
Housing
Mamdani campaigned on promises to freeze rent in more than 1 million stabilized apartments and use all available resources to build the housing New Yorkers need and lower rents.
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Mamdani promised to “cut costs and make life easier” for New Yorkers because the city is “too expensive.”
Median asking rents rose to about $3,400 a month, and the city’s apartment vacancy rate last year hit 1.4%, the lowest on record.
The war between Israel and Hamas
Mamdani has criticized Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza and Iran while advocating for Palestinian rights.
The Times of Israel describes him as a “far-left anti-Israel activist” and The Washington Post calling him “a vocal pro-Palestinian advocate”.
According to reports, Mamdani described the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack as a “war crime” and claimed that the US government is complicit in what he calls Israel’s “genocidal war” in Gaza.
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During a pre-election debate, he said he believed Israel had a right to exist, but as “a state with equal rights”. Mamdani’s candidacy reportedly alarmed some of the Jewish community, including some of the city’s leading Reform rabbis.
When Mamdani won the New York City mayoral polls, Zohran Mamdani’s rabbi and supporter said, “…We look forward to a bright and beautiful future. We will send a message to the world and show them the example of the Jewish people living under a Muslim mayor in the United States of America.”
He added: “We all consider Mr. Mamdani a friend of the Jewish people, as he has expressed many times why he criticizes and condemns the crimes of Israel.”
About immigrants
In his victory speech on Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani said: “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, driven by immigrants and, starting tonight, led by immigrants.
Mamdani’s relationship with India
Zohran Mamdani has repeatedly emphasized his Indian Muslim identity during his campaigns. In his victory speech, he also referenced former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, saying: “There comes a moment in history, but rarely, when we step from the old into the new, when an age ends and the soul of a nation long suppressed finds expression. Tonight, New York did just that.”
As Mamdani finished his speech, the speakers reportedly blasted a Bollywood hit: Dhoom Machale.
However, Zohran Mamdani has previously been criticized by sections of the Indian-American community, who accuse him of divisive rhetoric and “open bigotry” against Hindus.
He once described Congresswoman Jenifer Rajkumar, the first Hindu-American elected to the New York State Assembly, as a puppet of “Hindu fascists.”
In 2020, he joined a protest in Times Square against the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, where some protesters were filmed chanting anti-Hindu slogans, according to The New York Post.
He also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
