For the last one year, the 47th President of the US Donald Trump, arguably the most unpredictable ever, has turned the world upside-down and rattled his friends and foes alike.
The Presidents of Ukraine, Mexico, Panama and the Prime Minister of Canada have experienced the taste of his tongue-lashing while the shocked Greenlanders protested loudly that they weren’t up for sale!
The Sharm el -Sheikh Gaza Peace Summit last month established his Big Boss status in the world. He chose to be the Host, the Chief Guest and the MC all rolled in one; the European, Arab and other leaders were treated like kids in a Kindergarten School; there was not even a murmur of protest. If in doubt, check with the President of France and the Prime Ministers of the UK and Italy!
World leaders made a bee line to the Oval Office to seek reduction in tariffs or sign trade deals on the dotted line. Those who were even remotely connected with the prosecution of the attackers of the Capitol on January 6th 2021 are now themselves facing prosecution; some of Trump’s former cabinet colleagues are indicted. With MAGA warriors standing solidly standing behind him, no one wants to risk crossing the firing line of Donald J Trump!
However, in just nine months, Zohran Mamdani politically punched Donald Trump in the face. He is the son of Mahmood Mamdani who was expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972 and went on to become Professor of post-colonial history at the Columbia university, and India born, award winning film director Mira Nair acclaimed for her films like the Monsoon Wedding, Names Sake & Mississippi Masala. Mamdani is a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist whom Trump had described as a “100% Communist and a lunatic”. MAGA supporters, in response to his rise, had raised fears of a Communist takeover of New York City. Yet he rose from a virtually unknown New York Legislative Assembly seat to inflict a crushing defeat on the former Republican Governor Andrew Cuomo and “won control of the capital of capitalism”.
Mamdani has set several records: he became the youngest , the first Muslim and the first person of Indian descent to be the Mayor of New York in more than 100 years!
To borrow the words of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Mamdani has shown the “courage to change” despite the pressure from the billionaires club, and open hostility of the President. How did he do it?
He is an energetic, ambitious, charismatic, courageous young man with an extraordinary ability to communicate and connect with the people at the grass roots level.This image of a hands-on Mayor was hugely endearing to the majority of voters. His ability to connect with ordinary folks puts him in the mould of former US President Bill Clinton and in his ability to challenge the status -quo, he comes closer to Barack Obama.
He is a unique blend of a mindset influenced by his African and Indian heritage, American upbringing and study of Marxism. In that he does not work to sharpen the clash of the classes but to explore ways and means of connecting with them.
Instead of falling prey to religious divide and exacerbating fears of “aliens”, Mamdani picked up issues which impacted the daily lives of millions of New Yorkers who felt that the city had become too expensive. He came across as a sincere young guy with concrete plans to make the city affordable!
He promised free buses, free child care, free fair price grocery shops and rent stabilisation which resonated with all communities: South Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, Muslims & Christians. As one columnist said, Zohran’s politics was rooted in the people’s daily lives, not in political posturing and provocations.
He was offering freebies but not through cash handouts or cheques but through administrative decisions which will possibly lessen hardships for the hardest hit in New York.
Does his historic victory offer a winning template to young Indian political leaders?
His success Mantra has been one, continuous direct conversation with the voters digitally and in person; two extensive distribution of his combative, uniquely imaginative and funny videos that shared whatever you wanted to know about him; three, his background, what he stood for and how he was going to solve the problems of New York.
Mamdani went viral. His 100,000 volunteers knocked at doors of ordinary people and conversed with them in café’s, parks, corner shops, schools and got first hand information of their problems; they conveyed Mamdani ’s action plan to address the issues. The election result vindicated the claim that voters were identifying with the campaign, and they also really wanted an alternative to Trump.
If Mamdani needed 100,000 volunteers to crisscross New York city for getting him elected as Mayor, the Leader of the Opposition in India Rahul Gandhi can figure out how many million committed volunteers he will need to make a serious dent in the citadel of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Walking with him in his Bharat Jodo yatra for one or two kilometres was not a difficult task for his supporters, but to engage with people for months requires genuine commitment.
In the face of strong opposition from the billionaires of New York city and their active support for his opponents, Mamdani raised the finances for his campaign from small voluntary donations from common citizens. Figures varied from US $ 5 to $15. It was a vast grass root fund raising exercise and he stopped it with a public announcement,when he had received enough. Post election, Mamdani has made a fresh appeal for donations to support his transition team.
Cynics predict he will fail as his promises are too sweeping to fulfil. And unless “he is nice” President Trump can switch off the Central funds to New York. However, the fact that 87% of New Yorkers aged 18-28 including Jews and other communities and many Trump defectors voted for him underlines their support for what he represents. Will it rub on the Democratic party nationally, only time will tell.
Mayor elect, an articulate charmer (relishes Nepali, Punjabi and Mexican bites at roadside cafes and breaks into impromptu Turkish and rap dances) is seen as a game changer by thousands of 5.1 million American Indians who have been at the receiving end; they silently applaud his courageous assertion: I am young, I am a Muslim and I am an immigrant and I don’t apologise for any of that.
Ambassador Surendra Kumar retired from the Indian Foreign Service. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.