Zohran Mamdani, a 32-year-old Ugandan-born Indian American has now become the first South Asian candidate to win a major-party primary for NYC Mayor — a landmark moment in the city's evolving political landscape.
Mamdani is no stranger to political activism or public service. Born in Kampala, Uganda, and raised in New York City, Mamdani is the son of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani.
In 2021, Andrew Cuomo resigned as the governor after multiple sexual harassment allegations. With 95 per cent of ballots counted, Zohran was leading Cuomo 43 per cent to 36 per cent in the Democratic primary, according to a BBC report.
“Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign,” Cuomo said. “And he touched young people, and inspired them, and moved them, and got them to come out and vote. And he really ran a highly impactful campaign.”
A democratic socialist and a sitting New York State Assembly member from Astoria, Queens, Mamdani has built a reputation as an outspoken advocate for housing justice, police accountability, and immigrant rights. He first gained prominence during the 2020 wave of progressive candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
In the 2020 New York State Assembly election, he was elected from the 36th district, representing Astoria, Queens.
Mamdani used Bollywood to score a poll
Mamdani’s campaign has leaned heavily into grassroots mobilisation, echoing the style of his political contemporaries such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His slogan—“A City for the Many, Not the Few”—encapsulates his commitment to equity-driven policies.
The millennial progressive, who aspires to be the city's maiden South Asian mayor, leaned into his roots in the diverse city.
The rapper-turned-politician secured endorsement from renowned names like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and several others, as he moved into the Mayoral Election.
Throughout his poll campaigning, Mamdani represented himself as a candidate of the people and an organiser.
His state assembly profile reads, “As life took its inevitable turns, with detours in film, rap, and writing it was always organising that ensured that the events of our world would not lead him to despair, but to action.”
He even posted a campaign video that was perfectly mixed with clips from megastar Amitabh Bachchan's popular Bollywood film Deewar.
Speaking of billionaires, he used Bachchan's famous dialogue “Aaj mere paas… kya hai tumhare paas? (Today I have... what do you have?)” to highlight the support he got from the “people.”
“Billionaires already have everything. Now, your time has come,” he captioned the video, which was shared on June 5 on Instagram.
What are some of his other key promises?
Mamdani’s campaign for the New York City mayor position is centered on an ambitious and progressive policy platform aimed at redistributing wealth, expanding public services, and transforming urban life.
One of his flagship proposals is to make all city buses free by 2027. Mamdani has pointed to the success of pilot programmes where fare-free buses led to higher ridership and fewer assaults on drivers.
Housing is another pillar of Mamdani’s platform, where he proposes a rent freeze on all rent-stabilised apartments and plans to establish a Social Housing Development Agency that would build publicly-owned, permanently affordable housing. He has called for stronger tenant protections and has proposed rolling back rent hikes in city-owned properties.
Mamdani has also proposed opening one municipally owned grocery store in each borough, where communities underserved by commercial chains can access affordable, healthy food options. He has pledged to expand free school-meal programmes to include city colleges, and to offer universal childcare and early education programs.
To pay for it all, Mamdani has pitched major tax reforms: Raising the corporate tax rate from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent, and imposing a 2 percent surcharge on individuals earning more than $1m per year. According to his campaign, these measures could generate up to $9.4bn annually.
On public safety, Mamdani proposed shifting resources away from the New York Police Department towards a new Department of Community Safety, which would house mental health professionals, crisis responders and outreach workers.
Is Mamdani going to be the next mayor?
The general mayoral election for New York City will take place on November 4 this year. Mamdani will face Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who previously lost the 2021 mayoral race by a wide margin.
Once the primary results are formally announced, Mamdani will become the Democratic Party’s nominee for the November election. Given New York City’s overwhelming Democratic majority – Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 6 to 1 – he will be the firm favourite to become the city’s next mayor.
The last Republican to win a mayoral race in NYC was Michael Bloomberg in 2001, who won the race first as a Republican before switching to Independent status later in 2007 during his second term.