WHAT Zohran Mamdani has achieved with his win in the New York City mayoral race is, to put it in US lawmaker Bernie Sanders’ words, “one of the great political upsets in modern American history”.
Mr Mamdani, who will become the Big Apple’s first mayor of Muslim and South Asian descent, has indeed created history, through a relentless campaign to convince the citizens of one of the world’s greatest and most diverse cities to give him a chance in the driving seat. His victory also gives progressive forces the world over some hope at a time when the far right is ascendant globally. Mr Mamdani is truly a citizen of the world; his parents have roots in the subcontinent, he was born in Uganda and later became a naturalised American citizen, while his wife is Syrian.
Domestically, his appeal to NYC’s working men and women, its immigrant communities and young voters helped pull off a stunning victory. The self-professed social democrat’s campaign promised to confront the cost of living crisis by raising taxes on the superrich. On the foreign front, he is a staunch supporter of Palestine.
After the euphoria fades and Mr Mamdani moves into City Hall, he will have his work cut out for him. After all, his progressive stances — and proud embrace of his religious and ethnic identity — have earned him strong detractors. Perhaps the most prominent is the US president, who has derisively referred to the mayor-elect as a ‘communist’, and had earlier threatened to cut federal funding of NYC if Mr Mamdani won.
Moreover, the Democratic Party establishment was slow in its endorsement, while NYC’s new mayor faced vile abuse targeting his religion, ethnic background, and even his eating habits, on the campaign trail. He was also accused of antisemitism for resisting the powerful Zionist lobby.
All these negative forces will continue to create obstacles in Zohran Mamdani’s way. Yet his victory — as well as Sadiq Khan’s success as London mayor — is a resounding denunciation of the far right’s demonisation of Muslims and immigrants.
These political journeys show that many young voters in the West are looking to back candidates that support social and economic justice platforms, and are least concerned about candidates’ ethnic or confessional backgrounds. Racists and Islamophobes may be on the march, but Mr Mamdani’s victory rekindles some hope.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2025
