Zohran Mamdani May Inspire Mumbai, But NY’s Socialist Spark Won’t Ignite Here Easily

It’s clear that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist who may well be the first South Asian Muslim mayor of New York, has stirred more than conversations thousands of kilometres away. Mumbaikars, at least a certain set who closely follow the trajectory of politics in the United States, have been energised by Mamdani winning the Democratic Party nomination for the job that’s highly coveted and influential.

The NY metropolitan area, with its Gross Domestic Product at nearly $2.2 trillion, is the largest urban economy in the US and, if it were a country, would be the eighth-largest in the world. Influential is an understatement.

Mamdani exudes a brilliant mix of charm, confidence, oratory, connection, and a sense of purpose going by his videos. His campaign was refreshing in both its approach and design, as experts in these fields have noted. He used to be a rapper; he claims his South Asia legacy—from mother, award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair, and father, academician and author Mahmood Mamdani; he is unafraid to eat with his hands; he lets people know he stands with Palestine; and, most of all, he seems like a candidate who understands the city in all its grit and grime compared to the parlour politicians propped up by big businesses, even in his own Democratic party.

Mamdani’s win over his rivals in the party has been attributed to a host of factors, from his promises to freeze rents, lower the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities, and make bus commutes free and fast, among other things—some economists have termed them radical—as much as to his approachability and charm, though he did not sweep in the low-income and Black neighbourhoods. Given Nair’s connection with Mumbai, her first feature was Salaam Bombay and Mamdani’s own inspiring politics and campaign, the buzz in certain circles in Mumbai is understandable.

These folks, following Mamdani more than Mumbai’s municipal commissioner, were hilariously captured by a comedian who reminded Mumbaikars that Mamdani is not going to lead Mumbai any time soon.

The win has also sparked off the commentariat, with some writers searching for its lessons in Mumbai, even in India, while a few have sounded caution in copying the template. While Mamdani’s win in NY is certainly inspirational, it would be presumptuous and unrealistic to believe that it holds lessons for India or provides a template for Mumbai.

For anyone who knows the cities, Mumbai compares well with NY. The cities are financial and corporate hubs of their countries; there’s the business district concept at work, staggering vertical structures, extreme wealth amidst scarcity, spatial luxury amidst inadequacy and density in housing, islands of gleaming infrastructure amidst crumbling public transport, expensive healthcare and education alongside inadequate versions, dereliction and filth and more. Why, even the waters skirting the two primarily linear cities can be compared.

Yet, Mumbai is not NY. And expecting a ‘Mamdani’ to emerge here is like wishing one could get from Andheri to Bandra in 15 minutes on the Western Express Highway—it is unlikely. For one, Mumbai’s political framework is starkly different from that in NY. There’s no contest between candidates within political parties here as in the US.

In fact, the very concept of an elected head of local government does not exist in Mumbai; the mayor is a ceremonial position with little influence on the city’s economy, society or political stature at the national level. A ‘Mamdani’ is unique to the American political system and even more characteristic of NY than other cities in that country.

Secondly, though there are parallels in the urban structures, the economies, and the broad multicultural melting-pot character of the cities, Mumbai’s working and middle classes as well as its public systems have found few advocates among politicians in the neoliberal system we live in.

When was the last time a candidate for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation eloquently and clearly promised to improve the quality of life of Mumbai's millions? The BMC has not had an elected wing since 2022, but even when they sat in the grand hall, corporators were either unknown to most residents in their wards or they meekly followed the agenda of their political parties. Hardly any of the 227 corporators spoke up for the average Mumbaikar.

Thirdly, the political culture of progressivism and resistance visible in NY, not only in Mamdani’s win but also in the marches and demonstrations held against Israel or against President Donald Trump during the “No Kings” protest last month, is unlike such action in Mumbai.

It’s not that Mumbai does not have a streak of resistance or rebellion—its very existence is that in some ways—but the dismantling of the grassroots political framework, mainly of the Left, in the post-liberalised Mumbai and the many burdens of making a living place a great strain on Mumbaikars. The vibrant political culture of the 1970s-80s has ebbed. A ‘Mamdani’ cannot emerge in a vacuum.

“New York City remains hugely attractive to millions of people. But the gap between the resources of the vast majority of the population and the cost of living yawns increasingly wide. The city gets by. Its people are resourceful and resilient. But this coping comes at a price: increasing stress, resentment, and incomprehension.

How can things be this unaffordable, this dysfunctional and shoddy? Why is the city not as great as it could clearly be? Of course, a minority do extremely well. They feel no urgency for change…A politics that speaks openly about these pressures and urges bold and imaginative steps—as Mamdani and the New York left do—is a starting point,” noted Adam Tooze, professor of history at Columbia University, NY. Mamdani’s success is a sign of hope, but for NY, not for Mumbai.

Smruti Koppikar, an award-winning senior journalist and urban chronicler, writes extensively on cities, development, gender, and the media. She is the Founder Editor of the award-winning online journal ‘Question of Cities’ and can be reached at smruti@questionofcities.org.