A Historic Candidacy: Zohran Mamdani’s Ascent to Power
- SREELAA ANJANA NITIN
- Jul 7
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 8
The sudden influx of news about the winner of New York City's Democratic mayoral primary raises the question, "Who is Zohran Mamdani?" The Indian American candidate, who began his mayoral run in October, was a state lawmaker who was largely unknown to most residents of NYC. Positioned to make history as the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, Zohran defeated former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, who dropped out of the race after his defeat.
Background and Beginnings
Recognized as an Indian-American Muslim, Mamdani's background played a huge role in his win on 24th June. Mamdani is the son of Mira Nair, a Padma Bhushan awardee and well-renowned Indian-American filmmaker, and Mahmood Mamdani, an India-born Ugandan academic, author, and political commentator who also serves as the chancellor of Kampala International University. Mamdani is a naturalized US citizen, born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, till he migrated with his parents to New York at age seven.
He acquired a degree in African studies from Bowdoin College in Maine and worked as a housing counsellor to prevent low-income houseowners from getting evicted.
Zohran represents New York's 36th District and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
What are Mamdani's views?
He has been criticized for the multitude of views that he has expressed regarding situations all over the globe. Mamdani is vocal about his views on the Israeli occupation and war in Gaza. Grounding his beliefs in universal human rights and non-violence, he called the military campaign in Gaza a "genocide." He stated that he believed that Israel had a right to exist but also must uphold international law. He condemned President Trump's military strikes on Iran, calling for the administration to focus its funds on public welfare and initiatives rather than on uncalled-for violence.
He gained traction for his anti-Modi statements that drew parallels between the prime minister of Israel and the prime minister of India. He also criticized Modi for the 2002 Gujarat riots and joined protests in Times Square against celebrations of the Ram Mandir's construction in India.
His Matter of Course
Zohran's plan of action has always circled around the daily struggles of the working class. Matters like unsafe and pricey transport and the obscene amount New Yorkers have to pay for rent are some of the issues that he tackles in his agenda. Being the bedrock of the working class and the main reason why residents leave the city, Mamdani aims to freeze the rent for all stabilized tenants and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent.
He believes that transport like the subway and buses in New York ought to be safer and affordable for its people. He plans on deploying the Department of Community Safety. The Department will invest in citywide mental health programs and crisis response—including deploying dedicated outreach workers in 100 subway stations. Winning the city's first fare-free bus pilot on five lines across the city, he plans on making all buses free of fare and faster by building priority lanes.
Seeking to make New York City an area of refuge for the LGBTQIA+ community, Zohran intends to expand and protect gender-affirming care citywide and create the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.
Some of his other aims are no-cost childcare, taxing corporations and the 1%, and raising the minimum wage to $30 by 2030.
The People behind Mamdani
He garners political support from important figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "You took on the political, economic, and media establishment—and you beat them," Sanders wrote. Mamdani was endorsed by organizations including the New York Working Families Party, the national youth climate group Sunrise Movement, and multiple local unions.
Winning by a strong margin of 56 percent to former New York governor Andrew Cuomo's 44 percent in the third round of vote counting, the demographic of the votes that support Zohran comes from Black, Brown, Asian, immigrant, and working-class voters.
Voices of Criticism
Mamdani has and continues to receive comments of disapproval due to his stance on India and Palestine, along with criticism about his religion and ethnicity.
Mamdani even became the center of hate from the right wing after a video of him eating with his hands, a practice common in South Asian and African cultures, was posted. After critcising Prime Minister Modi, Senior Congress leader Abhishek "Manu" Singhvi likened Mamdani to "Pakistan's PR team," while actor-politician Kangana Ranaut said he "sounds more Pakistani than Indian."
His vocal support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement that promotes sanctions against Israel and his refusal to denounce anti-Zionist slogans like "globalize the Intifada" have resulted in right-wing politicians deeming him an antisemite.
Claiming to be President Donald Trump's "worst nightmare," Mamdani denounced President Donald Trump's threat to arrest him over his pledge to push back on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, calling the President's comments "an attack on our democracy" and "intimidation." The president had called Mamdani a '100% communist lunatic' and alleges that Mamdani is in the country 'illegally.' Trump was also asked during a press briefing about his response to Mamdani's vow to defy ICE agents, to which the president replied, "Well then, we'll have to arrest him." Untroubled, Zohran let the people know, via social media, that an attempt to silence and keep those who voice their opinions out in the shadow is an attack on democracy.
Zohran describes his strategy as the "politics of no translation," telling people that they get what they hear from him. "It's when you speak directly to the crises that people are facing, with no intermediaries in between. We need a politics that is direct, that speaks to people's own lives. If I tell you that I'm going to freeze your rent, you know exactly what I mean."
Incoming for Mamdani
With this, he hopes to win the general mayoral election for New York City that will take place in November of this year, facing candidates Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and independent Jim Walden. This win for the Democrats would show great prospects for the people of New York.
References:
Gusai, Y., Gusai, Y., & Chronicle, D. (2025, June 27). Deccan Chronicle. Deccan Chronicle. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/nyc-mayoral-candidate-zohran-mamdani-faces-heat-from-indian-politicians-1887834
Chronicle, D. (2025, July 2). Zohran Mamdani confirmed as Democratic candidate for New York Mayor. Deccan Chronicle. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/zohran-mamdani-confirmed-as-democratic-candidate-for-new-york-mayor-1888825
Hagan, N. T. a. R. (2025, June 25). Who is Zohran Mamdani? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2rgzye9no.amp
Chakraborty, D., & Chakraborty, D. (2025, June 28). Labelled ‘communist lunatic’ by Trump, New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is an outlier. ThePrint. https://theprint.in/world/labelled-communist-lunatic-by-trump-new-york-mayoral-candidate-zohran-mamdani-is-an-outlier/2672256/
Chu, H., Kahn, R., & Samuel, M. (2025, July 2). A Wave of Asian Votes Helped Propel Zohran Mamdani’s Trailblazing Win. THE CITY - NYC News. https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/30/zohran-mamdani-south-asian-vote/
Singh, R. (2025, June 25). Meet Zohran Mamdani, the Indian-American leading the race to become New York’s next mayor. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/zohran-mamdani-indian-american-new-york-next-mayor-10086827/
Lee, C. (2025, July 1). ‘We will not accept this intimidation’: Zohran Mamdani responds to Trump’s arrest threat. TIME. https://time.com/7299415/zohran-mamdani-trump-arrest-threat/
Reporter, B. (2025, June 26). Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral win draws sharp political reactions in India. www.business-standard.com. https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/zohran-mamdani-win-in-ny-evokes-sharp-political-reactions-in-india-125062601276_1.html
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