Meet Zohran Mamdani: The First Muslim, South Asian, Democratic Socialist Set To Lead New York City (Image: X/ Zohran Kwame Mamdani)

On June 24, 2025, the city witnessed an electoral upheaval that few could ignore: Zohran Kwame Mamdani, representing the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), clinched the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor.

With 89% of precincts reporting, Mamdani led the first round of ranked-choice ballots with 44%, leaving former Governor Andrew Cuomo trailing at 36% and city comptroller Brad Lander at 11%.

Though the final round of ranked-choice tabulations will be certified on July 1, the numbers already tell a clear story: Cuomo conceded defeat before the night ended. “Tonight was not our night; tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night,” Cuomo told his supporters, bringing an end to his attempted political comeback.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done.

My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it.

I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City. pic.twitter.com/AgW0Z30xw1

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 25, 2025

But Mamdani’s candidacy wasn’t built on conventional lines. A longtime advocate for Palestinian rights, he has been one of the few American elected officials to boldly and consistently criticise Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

From co-founding Students for Justice in Palestine during his college years to organising grassroots campaigns in support of Palestinian self-determination, Mamdani has never wavered on this front—even when it invited political heat.

His victory signals that unapologetic stances on global justice issues no longer doom candidates in major American cities—they can be galvanising forces.

Zohran Mamdani was one of the hunger strikers in front of the White House last November. He has been vocal about the genocide in Gaza. We need leaders like him. Consider supporting his campaign for Mayor of New York City. https://t.co/fmGCvt9deT pic.twitter.com/zpmAqvyQb4

— Dear White Staffers (@dearwhitestaff) October 23, 2024

Mamdani, a practising Shia Muslim, was born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda. He is the son of Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair, celebrated for films like Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding, and The Namesake, and Mahmood Mamdani, a prominent Ugandan scholar of African history and postcolonial theory.

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His early life was spent in Cape Town, South Africa, before he relocated to New York City at the age of seven. From the Bronx High School of Science to Bowdoin College, where he earned a degree in Africana Studies, Mamdani’s education reflected a constant engagement with justice, history, and the politics of identity.

His first steps into politics came at the grassroots level. He volunteered for Khader El-Yateem’s 2017 City Council run, managed Ross Barkan’s State Senate campaign, and played a key role in Tiffany Cabán’s insurgent bid for Queens District Attorney.

By 2021, he had won a seat in the New York State Assembly representing the 36th District in Queens, home to working-class communities of immigrants, renters, and the underrepresented.

Although Mamdani’s win is historic and carries the weight of transformation, his meteoric rise wasn’t entirely unanticipated. His campaign was powered not just by charisma but by a deep-rooted intellectual and cultural foundation.

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Mira Nair, his mother and an artistic force in her own right, became an understated yet powerful presence on the campaign trail. Known for letting her work speak louder than her name, she never leaned on her fame to uplift her son’s candidacy.

Mamdani’s political arc now mirrors the narrative depth of Nair’s cinematic work, centred on global strivers, diaspora identities, and systems of injustice.

Mamdani’s mayoral bid was not just a campaign; it was a movement in American politics. With a staggering 20,000 volunteers mobilised across boroughs, his grassroots machinery rivalled anything the city had seen in recent history. His agenda was unabashedly bold:

• A citywide rent freeze to protect tenants from gentrification and displacement.

• Fare-free public buses, aimed at easing the burden on working-class commuters.

• City-owned grocery stores to combat food deserts and corporate monopolies.

• Higher taxes on New York’s wealthiest, in pursuit of equity-driven fiscal reform.

The campaign’s energy crackled online and offline. Memes, street canvassing, rallies, and cultural festivals—all were fused into a narrative of urgency and inclusion. This wasn’t just politics. This was a generational challenge to the status quo.

Uptown with @CarmenForNYC 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FvFLMV8GNS

— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 24, 2025

If elected in the general election on November 4, Mamdani will become the first Muslim, the first South Asian, and the first DSA-affiliated mayor in New York City’s history. He will face off against current Mayor Eric Adams, who is seeking re-election as an Independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.