The Mamdani moment: Why New York’s new political star is sparking debates in India

Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in the democratic primary for New York City mayor has not just excited American politics but ignited quite a conversation in India. The charismatic Indian origin 33-year-old Mamdani seems to have divided Indian political opinion right down the middle. The fact that he is a Muslim, has been very critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has strongly opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s actions in Gaza, have made Mamdani a prime target of the Indian right wing’s wrath. On the other hand, his very socialist positions on taxing the rich, freezing rents, free bus rides, universal child care along with his political views have made him the darling of the Indian left liberals.

When I first saw the promises Mamdani made, it immediately reminded me of the Aam Aadmi Party which pushed a new culture of welfare schemes or freebies, whatever you want to call it, in Indian politics. The BJP has since successfully adopted the same model. Like Arvind Kejriwal, Zohran Mamdani is playing the disruptor card.

It’s not surprising that Mamdani should generate so much interest here. Indian origin politicians have been rising stars in the West for some years now and are making headlines in India. Rishi Sunak was the Prime Minister of Britain, a country that once colonised India. The right wing celebrated Rishi Sunak’s success largely driven by the fact that he wore his Hinduism on his sleeve. The same right wing also celebrates the Vivek Ramaswamys and Nikki Haleys of the world, even though their politics is rooted against immigrants.

But Zohran Mamdani really irks them. It was amusing to see pro-BJP social media handles that have expressed joy about a Sunak or a Ramaswamy sneer at those who are happy with Mamdani’s victory. And there is only one main reason for that - his faith. Even Senior Congress leader and MP Abhishek Singhvi made a rather undignified dig at Mamdani for doing “Pakistani PR”. “If he’s a Muslim, of course he is pro-Pakistan” is how the Indian right wing generally thinks. To see a Congress leader speak similarly is even sadder.

Then there was Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora who made a comment on X: “Some people in #Mumbai know that Zohran Mamdani is running for Mayor in New York but can’t name a single one of Mumbai’s last 3 Mayors. Yet they passionately demand better roads, drainage & civic amenities here. Go figure.”

First of all, Mumbai’s mayors have nowhere near the kind of powers of New York City’s mayor. And his comment is especially rich given that elections to Mumbai’s municipal body - the BMC - have been delayed for almost 5 years. Also you don’t need to know the names of your mayors to demand good roads and other basic infrastructure. That is our right as taxpayers.

I can only hope that Indians take away one important lesson from Mamdani’s victory - that civic leaders and civic issues must matter to all citizens. Unfortunately in India, we tend to underplay the importance of this. We don’t know the names of our mayors simply because they are just not empowered to do much. We have some rich civic bodies like the BMC but the state of our cities is on the verge of collapse. We complain and moan about that but very few actually come out to vote in municipal polls. We are lucky if people living in cities turn out at all in some pockets during state and national polls.

Like almost everything else in our political discourse today, Zohran Mamdani has polarised opinions both in America and India. But the reasons are different. In New York during his campaign, it was his ideas that were being debated. In India it is his religion. Whether you agree with Mamdani’s views or not, this is a big moment in American politics that could shake up how the Democrats take on Trump and the Republicans in next year’s mid term polls. Many within the Democratic Party are nervous about the socialism that Mamdani holds dear, worried they may alienate moderate undecided voters. Others believe the party needs to embrace what Mamdani stands for wholeheartedly to provide a genuine alternative to the Republican MAGA.

How this plays out could change the course of America’s future.