zohran mamdani

zohran mamdani is 34 years old, born in uganda to indian shia muslim parents. he is an organized democratic socialist who supports free childcare and free public transit, as well as women’s and lgbtq rights. he is a vocal pro-palestine activist, a rapper, and he met his syrian cartoonist wife on a dating app. his mother is filmmaker mira nair and his father is marxist scholar mahmood mamdani.

with 50.5% of the vote, mamdani became new york city’s first muslim and first mayor of indian descent. his win challenged donald trump, billionaire donors, business elites, millions of dollars spent against him, islamophobia, and the pro-israel political establishment. his victory suggested that a new kind of politics is possible in the united states.

mira nair met mahmood mamdani in uganda while she was researching material for her film mississippi masala. mahmood had been expelled from uganda in 1972 along with tens of thousands of asian ugandans under idi amin. he later became a leading scholar on colonialism, nationalism, and minority rights. the couple married and lived between countries, and in 1991 they named their son zohran kwame mamdani after ghana’s anti-colonial leader kwame nkrumah.

the family eventually settled in new york after time in south africa. their home became a gathering place for writers, journalists, artists, activists, and academics. zohran grew up surrounded by political debate, creativity, and organizing.

he attended school in new york and studied african studies at bowdoin college. some critics later called him a “nepo baby,” but instead of pursuing a traditional career, he focused on political organizing. he worked with tenant defense groups, socialist organizations, and the palestine movement. he also made music and worked in new york’s cultural world.

in 2017 he joined the democratic socialists of america. he first organized for other candidates, then launched his own campaign.

in 2019, during a period of rising activism and anger at inequality in new york, he ran for city council from astoria, a diverse immigrant neighborhood. his team knocked on tens of thousands of doors and distributed 12,000 iftar meals during ramadan to mobilize muslim voters. he won the democratic primary and took office. in the council he became known for supporting movements, especially the hunger strike by taxi workers trapped under predatory loans.

in 2024 he announced a run for mayor. at first he had only 1% support in polls. he built his campaign through mass organizing. more than 50,000 volunteers canvassed. on some days the campaign reached 150,000 homes.

a central focus was engaging muslim new yorkers, who number over one million but often vote at low rates. mamdani embraced his identity and spoke directly to mosque congregations after friday prayers.

his position on palestine became a central issue. while many political elites in new york support israel, mamdani aligned with working-class people, students, and immigrant communities who were outraged by the war in gaza. he argued that criticizing israel is not antisemitic and called on the city to end certain business ties with israel. progressive jewish activists and a jewish socialist candidate who encouraged voters to rank mamdani as their second choice became crucial to his win in the ranked-choice voting system.

mamdani’s platform focuses on reducing the cost of living. he supports capping rent increases, building more public housing, opening city-run grocery stores to reduce food costs, making buses free, expanding public childcare, and replacing some policing with community-based public safety programs. he plans to fund this by raising taxes slightly on high-income earners and corporations, while also cutting government waste and reducing unnecessary regulation that blocks housing.

his campaign also stood out because of its presentation. his posters used bright colors and large type inspired by new york’s immigrant shop signs and bollywood designs. he communicated in short, direct statements. he spoke with voters who disagreed with him, including trump supporters, and focused on listening and building trust rather than ridicule. his social media strategy reached young voters through short, humorous, clear videos tailored to each platform.

he married syrian artist rama duwaji after meeting her on hinge. when critics mocked their honeymoon in dubai, the couple responded by sharing everyday photos from the new york subway and streets, which strengthened their image of authenticity.

mamdani’s victory is historic for muslim, south asian, arab, african, immigrant, and working-class new yorkers, including taxi drivers, delivery workers, and street vendors who have long been marginalized and surveilled. in a time of rising islamophobia and repression of protest, new york elected a muslim democratic socialist who openly supports palestinian rights.

whether he can accomplish everything he proposes is not yet known. but the meaning of his election is already clear. the name zohran, in persian, refers to something bright like the sun. for many new yorkers, his win feels like the beginning of a new morning.

right now, what’s happening in new york city is honestly absurd. rent has gone completely out of control. even studio apartments are going for four to five thousand dollars a month. so mamdani says, “i’m going to freeze rent increases, and the city will build affordable housing.” can he actually do that? i have no idea, because it’s a complicated issue. the mayor can’t just snap his fingers and freeze rent. the state government has to approve. we’ll see how that plays out. at the very least, i think he’ll try.

public transit is a whole separate disaster. the subway system is falling apart. half the stations don’t even have elevators. they replaced the old metrocard with this new omny system, but it barely works. you used to be able to buy unlimited weekly or monthly metrocards, but they removed those. now omny claims you ride 12 times in a week and then it becomes unlimited, but then you check and your balance is negative instead of unlimited. it’s a mess.

food prices are skyrocketing. i see it where i live. there’s a trader joe’s nearby, and everyone shops there because at least it’s a little more affordable and the quality is good. other grocery stores are empty because everyone flocks to trader joe’s. and it makes sense: if you’re paying thousands for a tiny studio, of course you’re waiting in line for cheaper groceries.

anyway, what i’m saying is: people here are hungry for food that is both good and affordable. so mamdani says, “the city should run its own grocery chain. not for profit. its mission will be to provide good, affordable food.” it’s like the public city cafeterias i̇mamoğlu started in istanbul, and i fully support that idea.

new york’s city budget is around $130 billion. so the money exists to do these things. but of course, it’s not that simple. for example, he says public transit should be free. but the transit system is run by the mta, which is a state organization, not a city one. so mamdani would need to negotiate with the state. either the city covers the revenue the mta would lose, or the city starts its own bus system in selected neighborhoods as a pilot.

he also talks about free healthcare clinics. that’s actually realistic because it already exists in some form. there is a program called nyc care. i was unemployed for a while and enrolled in it, and for a year i didn’t pay a single dollar for hospital visits. if he expands that, it’s already a win.

he also promises free childcare, a $30 minimum wage, and higher taxes on the wealthy. we’ll see how much of that he can actually deliver.

but here’s what i want to emphasize: this guy won as an openly socialist candidate in the capital city of capitalism. that means something. it means you cannot just buy new york. people are saying “enough.” new york is not only wealthy folks in the upper east side. we live here too. you can’t just pretend we don’t exist.

cuomo’s side poured millions into trying to defeat him. trump supporters and billionaires backed cuomo. and even with all that money behind his opponent, mamdani still won.