Zohran Mamdani campaigned in poetry. He must now govern in prose

Mamdani’s election serves as a beacon of hope to the marginalised and forgotten. (AP Photo)

The new year has begun with a landmark moment in New York’s political history with Zohran Mamdani being sworn in as the city’s 112th mayor. The platform of the old City Hall subway station in Manhattan served as the venue for the swearing-in ceremony. It was a setting redolent with symbolism, chosen to remind the electorate that the mayor intends to fulfil his wider agenda with ordinary people at the core. Whether Mamdani is able to deliver on the expectations that have brought him into office will be keenly watched not just domestically but well beyond America’s shores.

Mamdani’s ascension to New York City’s mayoralty marks a trio of historic achievements: He becomes NYC’s first Muslim mayor, the first South Asian to hold office and the youngest to do so. He was sworn in beside his wife, artist Rama Duwaji. His parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor, were also present. Riding a crest of popularity that has stupefied America’s political establishment, the 34-year-old has defied conventional wisdom to assume office. The youthful New York state assembly member that few had heard of a year ago surged to victory on a wave of despair and angst over the high cost of living in America’s most populist city and a pledge to use the power of government to help working-class citizens.

Mamdani’s vision covers an ambitious socio-economic programme with free universal childcare, free buses, state-owned grocery stores, rent freezes and the construction of 2,00,000 affordable housing units over the next ten years. His campaign put the cost-of-living crisis at the core of his agenda, stitching together a coalition of youngsters, working-class individuals and the marginalised. Graduates struggling to find a foothold in New York City voted for Mamdani in droves as did the immigrants that support New York’s essential services and its 24/7 gig economy.

Mamdani’s clarion call for the “audacity of hope” prevailed over fearmongering. Opponents caricatured him as a die-hard communist bent on stifling New York’s innovation and dismantling its culture of economic freedom and entrepreneurship. But Mamdani countered adroitly that democratic socialism was needed to preserve and promote opportunity for those that may be forever consigned to the margins. He reasoned effectively that the American Dream must be a dream for the many, not just the few. Bombastic doom-mongering from centre-right pundits only galvanised Mamdani’s supporters. Even US President Donald Trump had to acknowledge the salience of Mamdani’s affordability agenda with a joint Oval office press conference where the young man more than held his own.

Looking ahead though, key challenges remain. Mamdani’s crowd-pleasing spending agenda worked on the campaign trail, but it needs to be paid for. As the adage goes, you campaign in poetry but need to govern in prose. Can Mamdani manage this task without hurting New York’s dynamism? That is a legitimate question. His avowed plan is to raise income taxes on the wealthy and to increase corporation taxes to fund his vision. This needs support from Democrat governor Kathy Hochul who is up for re-election this year and from the New York assembly too. Obtaining this assistance will not be easy. He will need to forge a coalition with voices from industry. A mayor that cannot build a bridge with business in America’s most populous city will find his agenda more difficult to implement. Class warfare is not a prescription for sustainable governance.

What Mamdani has achieved though is to give a voice to a flailing Democratic party. Outfoxed by Trump’s second coming, the party appeared to be in a listless state with no coherent direction. But Mamdani’s deft articulation of a cost-of-living crisis has appealed to the party’s centre-left instincts. The hope is that working-class Americans beyond New York that deserted the party might reconsider their choices too. In doing so, Mamdani has also fashioned a probable blueprint for centre-left formations beyond the US to draw inspiration from. Across the pond, a Labour party in the doldrums should take note.

Paradoxically, while Mamdani’s concerns are painted as essentially leftist, they have more in common with the insurgent right elsewhere than is acknowledged. The red-wall Brexit voters in Britain’s northern areas have also worried about being left behind. Nigel Farage’s resurgent Reform UK party has also effectively tapped into an affordability crisis.

From an Indian diaspora perspective, there is a measure of pride in Mamdani’s success but also some unease with his anti-establishment swagger. What is worth reminding ourselves though is you do not have to agree on every issue to find some common ground. In this respect, Mamdani’s heterodoxy is firmly rooted in an Indian tradition of debate and discussion.

On a broader note, Mamdani’s election serves as a beacon of hope to the marginalised and forgotten. His victory reminds us of the power of the democratic process to effect change. But if Mamdani is to fulfil New York’s “tryst with destiny” without denting its dynamism and growth, the importance of blending idealism with pragmatism cannot be overstated.