The installation of a new mayor for New York, the world’s most high-profile city, need not necessarily attract global attention in normal course. Yet, the election of young, dapper Sohram Mamdani as the nominee of the Democratic Party has created a sensation not just in the US but elsewhere too. The 34-year-old, whose mother is Indian-Punjabi origin film director Mira Nair and father an Ugandan academician, is the youngest mayor there in the past over a century. Significantly, his quote from Jawaharlal Nehru’s celebrated ‘tryst with destiny’ speech heralding India’s Independence in 1947, touched on the transition from “the old to the new” for a city of less than nine million people. With a progressive mindset, which made President Trump label him as a Communist anarchist, Mamdani is obviously a rebel, a social democrat as he put it – and looks at matters from refreshingly new ways. Mamdani’s future growth in public life would be keenly watched. Yet, what gained more attention now is his half-Muslim origin, set against recent global tumults, terrorism, and in the backdrop of the Clash of Civilization theories.
Donald Trump has reason to feel more irritated at this electoral verdict widely seen as a vote against his rash administrative styles. Trump’s reform measures are seen as whimsical and hurting the economic interests of a wide spectrum of society. Worse, house-rents are “unbearable” for those who hire apartments in New York. With pressure growing on the residents by the day, Republicans obviously bore the brunt. What came as an added advantage to the Mayor-elect was his religious orientation. A tenth of New York’s population are Muslim settlers drawn mainly from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, Africa and elsewhere. Most taxi drivers in the mega city are Muslims, as also substantial segments of the low-paid workforce. A fourth of the Muslims in the US are living in New York. It would also appear that labour unions, carrying red flags, stood by Mamdani. Communists, failing to make a mark in the epicenter of capitalism since the party’s arrival in the US a century ago, claim a membership of no more than 22,000. Yet, all these forces joined hands to ensure the defeat of the Republicans, sending strong signals to the Trump administration and by extension the Republicans. The icing on the victory cake was, perhaps, the firm Muslim backing for Mamdani.
Despite the surprise policy shifts aimed at strengthening the American economy, Trump would now be increasingly on the defensive. The defeat of the Republicans in the mayoral polls is bound to cause a chain reaction within the ruling establishment. In a matter of 10 months, Trump has antagonized many at home and many more nations abroad as well. Whether the United States can absorb the shocks from Trump’s series of new policy formulations is worth a watch. The Democrats are waiting in the wings, but would require patience for three more years to dream of a return to power even as the public mood is visibly surcharged against the incumbent President.
