What Makes Zohran Mamdani, New York Mayor Candidate So Appealing To Voters
"Tonight, we made history," he told supporters after his win. "I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City."
Powered by a bold, left-wing agenda and grassroots energy, here are five key pillars of his platform that have fuelled his rise:
Housing And Rent Reform
Housing is Zohran Mamdani's priority. He promises an immediate freeze on rent-stabilised units and stricter enforcement against negligent landlords. His boldest proposal is the creation of a Social Housing Development Agency to build 2 lakh publicly owned affordable homes over the next decade, funded by higher taxes on millionaires and large corporations.
"It's a city that is in danger of losing that which makes it so special," Mr Mamdani said at a BBC event.
For Working-Class New Yorkers
Zohran Mamdani has promised to make New York more affordable by taxing the rich. His fiscal plan includes a 2 per cent income tax on individuals earning over $1 million and increased corporate taxes, measures he says will raise $20 billion. These funds would be funnelled into universal childcare (starting from six weeks of age), free public college, fare-free public transit, and subsidised grocery stores in low-income areas. He has also called for a $30 minimum wage by 2030.
Free Public Transit And Climate Action
Mr Mamdani's transit plan is one of the most ambitious in recent history. He advocates making all Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) buses permanently free and freezing subway fares. He pairs this with a pro-climate transportation vision, i.e, congestion pricing, expanded bike lanes, and better cross-borough transit access to fight car dependency and reduce emissions.
Community-Centered Public Safety
Rejecting the traditional police-heavy approach to public safety, Mamdani proposes creating a new Department of Community Safety. This agency would focus on housing, mental health, and outreach rather than arrests and enforcement. He also calls for an 800 per cent increase in funding for anti-hate programs, specifically targeting Islamophobia, antisemitism, and anti-Asian hate crimes.
Rights For Immigrants And LGBTQ+ Communities
As the son of Ugandan-Indian immigrants, Zohran Mamdani's platform puts immigrant and marginalised communities front and centre. He has pledged full sanctuary protections for undocumented New Yorkers, expanded legal aid and improved language access, particularly for Muslim and South Asian populations. He also champions expanded gender-affirming care, the creation of an LGBTQIA+ Affairs Office, and protections against discrimination.
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Hindustan Times
a few seconds ago
- Hindustan Times
Reading the outcome of the Alaska summit
The Alaska summit between American President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin may have ended inconclusively, but it clearly indicated that if the Ukraine war ends during Trump's presidency, Ukraine will likely have to sacrifice a part of its territory. The usual aggression that Trump displays when meeting other world leaders was hardly present when he met Putin; if anything, there was a great deal of chemistry between them. In the run-up to the summit, Trump had warned of 'severe consequences' if Putin continued the Ukraine war after the summit, but that appears to be an empty threat now. As a matter of fact, Trump seems to have gone in the opposite direction. After the summit, Trump agreed with Putin that the best way to end the war was through a peace settlement — not a ceasefire, which Ukraine, Europe, and even the US had preferred prior to the summit, but not Russia. The apparent rapport between the two leaders and Trump's reversal on the ceasefire issue suggest that Trump is likely to, going forward, show more understanding of the Russian position than the Ukrainian one. Apart from the growing certainty, underscored by this summit, that the war is likely to end on Russia's terms, the rest is just noise and drama — including, it seems, Trump's recent threat to impose an additional 25% duty on Indian goods for buying Russian oil. A key reason Russia is unlikely to give up the captured Ukrainian territory is not only its military strength but also that, under Trump, Washington lacks the political will to enforce such a change. Even if the US had the political will to do so, as it did under the Biden administration, it might still have been unable to dislodge Russia from the occupied territories. At best, the US could have made it tough for Russia to hold onto the captured territory and generally made life difficult for Moscow. Trump is not keen on doing so; he appears to have decided to abandon Ukraine. America's lack of commitment to this war is hardly born out of a realistic assessment of the balance of forces on the battlefield or due to Russian staying power in the occupied territories; it is simply a function of Trump's personal proclivities. Trump is simply not convinced of the need to push back against Russia because he doesn't believe in that cause: He wants a great power rapprochement with Russia. Trump's war termination talks with Russia without Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the table, America's reduced military assistance to Ukraine, and the summit with Putin are all part of the American president's attempts at controlling the narrative, something Trump enjoys immensely. Europe is deeply worried but has limited capacity to help Ukraine. Its security predicament stems from its deep reliance on American security guarantees. If it doesn't have the wherewithal to look after its own security, its ability to help Ukraine without the US is far less certain. Notwithstanding Europe's good intentions and its constant assurances to Ukraine, it will eventually have to swallow the bitter pill and walk the line dictated by Washington. Good intentions are not enough to win wars. Russia is now acting from a position of strength — militarily, diplomatically and geopolitically. The Alaska summit has further strengthened Moscow's position regarding the war. By agreeing to a peace settlement to end the war, as opposed to a ceasefire, Trump has effectively agreed to the Russian position. Even if we are not sure what Trump has in mind when he refers to a peace settlement, we do know what Putin means by it. The Russian view of a settlement has the following four key elements. One, international legal recognition of Crimea, captured in 2014, as part of Russia, as well as Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions; two, Ukraine must become neutral, outside any military alliance, host no foreign forces, and make a commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons; three, major limits on Ukraine's armed forces; four, ending the sanctions on Russia. Even if Russia is able to get some, if not all, of these demands met — which doesn't seem impossible at this point— it is likely to walk away from this war victorious. Russia is on its way back into the ranks of great powers and the global balance of power, and Putin has much to thank Trump for creating that shift. Even though Ukraine is the most important, and aggrieved, party in this conflict, unfortunately, it appears to be the least consequential one at the negotiating table, at least for the moment. It neither has the military power to push back against Russia on its own nor does it have the geopolitical standing to convince Trump to come to its aid. Kyiv's best friends, the European States, are finding it harder to do for Ukraine any more than what they are already doing. Ukraine's fate is a grave wake-up call for small and medium powers worldwide, especially those bordering ambitious great powers. If so, the eventual outcomes of the Ukraine war are broadly clear; unless of course, there are major shifts in geopolitics in the months to come. We are likely to witness a great power détente between the US and Russia. The chemistry between the two leaders left us in no doubt that the world is headed that way. Such a US-Russia détente will leave Europe insecure, which will seek to build its defence outside of Nato. Ukraine is caught between having to make concessions it detests and being embroiled in a long war with Russia without any US military assistance. It can afford neither, nor can it avoid a choice. Happymon Jacob is the founder and director of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research and the editor of INDIA'S WORLD magazine. The views expressed are personal.
Hindustan Times
a few seconds ago
- Hindustan Times
Stalemate in Alaska is a gain for Moscow
The summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ended without any concrete outcomes regarding the ending of the war in Ukraine, currently in its fourth year. It was clear after the meeting in Alaska that Trump had given up his push for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine while Putin had demanded that Ukraine should give up control of the entire Donbas region, including areas that have not been taken by Russian troops. It will be foolhardy for the Europeans to expect the US to play its traditional role even though they have no choice but to continue with Trump as the only broker who has a direct line to Putin. (@mfa_russia via PTI) The summit was a symbolic win for Putin, who became a virtual outcast for the West even before the launch of the invasion, as he secured an invitation to the US without making any concessions. Both Trump and Putin have spoken of security guarantees for Ukraine, while the US President has said he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should cut a deal. However, Ukraine has already ruled out any territorial concessions while European leaders have expressed doubts about Putin's intentions, pointing out that he has not delivered on past commitments. The planned meeting between Trump, Zelensky and other European leaders on Monday is expected to offer indications of the way forward, though it will be foolhardy for the Europeans to expect the US to play its traditional role even though they have no choice but to continue with Trump as the only broker who has a direct line to Putin. The Indian government, which followed the Alaska summit closely because of Trump's threat of resorting to secondary sanctions against the country after imposing a 25% tariff over the continued purchases of Russian oil, has welcomed the Alaska summit and commended Putin and Trump for their pursuit of peace. The Indian side's wish for an early end to the conflict in Ukraine will require more protracted diplomacy.
The Hindu
a few seconds ago
- The Hindu
185 people crossed a line
Outside his weathered bhunga, a circular mud hut with a thatched roof, on the outskirts of Zura camp — a sparse, sunbaked stretch of land in Gujarat's Kutch district — Sooroji Kanji Sodha, 70, exhales as if releasing 16 years of apprehension. 'This feels like a second birth,' he says, his voice steady but sombre. He and his wife, Taju Kaur, were recognised as Indian citizens on July 25, along with 183 other Pakistani nationals in Gujarat. In 2009, Sooroji left behind his janmabhoomi (the land of his birth) in Tharparkar district of Pakistan's Sindh province. The decision cost him nearly 40 acres of land, his livestock, and a way of life his family had known for generations. With his wife and eight children, he boarded a train to India in search of dignity and a better future, he says. 'Leaving my watan (country) was never easy,' Sooroji, who now earns ₹300 a day as a daily wager, says. 'But I did it for my children. Especially for my daughters.' The Sodha couple and others received Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA). The CAA Rules were notified in March 2024, just before India's Lok Sabha elections. The CAA provides a pathway to citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Jain, Buddhist, and Christian) – both documented and undocumented – from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. Across Rajkot, Morbi, and Kutch districts, many say the wait for citizenship stretches well beyond a decade, forcing families to live in a constant state of legal and social limbo. A man in Morbi who also got Indian citizenship says, 'There we were a minority. Here, until we get our citizenship documents, we are no one.' Just before COVID-19 regulations came into force in March 2020, anti-CAA protests took place across India, claiming that it was discriminatory in nature against Muslims. The Bharatiya Janata Party that leans towards Hindutva and its allies were in power then. The same party is in power now, both at the Centre and in Gujarat. Minority report It was not just religious persecution and looting, Sooroji explains, but the limitations placed on their future as a minority that drove his decision. In his native region, most Rajput families bore the Sodha surname, making it difficult to find suitable matrimonial matches for his children, due to norms that discourage marrying within the same extended clan. 'In Pakistan, there were no Jadejas, no Parmars, no Nadodas for us to marry our children to,' he says, wrapping his yellow turban around his head. 'Those families are in India, not in Pakistan.' Zura camp, where Sooroji lives, was initially set up shortly after Partition in 1947 to accommodate Hindu refugees from the Sindh province. Over time, it has become home to those who migrated during later periods of unrest, especially around the 1971 Indo-Pak war. For many like Sooroji, life in the camp has meant living in limbo — waiting for citizenship, waiting to belong. Clutching his certificate, he says, 'I can now say I am Indian — not just in my heart, but on paper too. Now, I hope my children also get their citizenship based on my documents and can work in this country with pride.' Data accessed from the Directorate of Census Operations, Gandhinagar, reveals that 1,050 Pakistani nationals settled in Gujarat — 537 men and 513 women — are covered under the Act between July 2, 2024 and July 22, 2025. All of them are Hindus, with the highest number in Ahmedabad (433), followed by Rajkot (271), and Patan (133) districts. In addition, separate data from the Gujarat government shows that since 2018, up to 1,386 Pakistani nationals have been granted Indian citizenship through the discretionary powers given to District Collectors. Most of them travelled to India on a visit visa, with no intention of returning. They booked one-way tickets on the now-suspended weekly Thar Express, an international passenger train that ran between Bhagat Ki Kothi in Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Karachi Cantonment in Pakistan. Immigration and customs facilities were located at Munabao railway station on the Indian side. The service was suspended in August 2019 following a deterioration in diplomatic ties between the two countries, after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and reorganised the State into two Union Territories. Caste consciousness A six-hour drive from Zura camp, in Rajkot, Savitha Fufal, 44, a mother, is getting ready to head out for her wedding anniversary dinner with her husband Vishan and their son Jignesh, 12, on August 5. It is a quiet celebration, a far cry from the life she left behind over a decade ago, she says. In May 2013, just nine months into their marriage, Vishan, now a hotelier, decided to leave Karachi and move to India with seven family members, including Savitha, his mother, sister, and four relatives from his brother's family. Savitha's four siblings still live in Pakistan, and she keeps in touch with them regularly through video calls. Sitting in the small living room of their rented home, Savitha recalls the emotional weight of leaving her country. 'It was hard to leave,' she says, 'but living there wasn't easy either.' The couple initially came to India on a tourist visa and later applied for and kept renewing their Long-Term Visa (LTV). 'Things weren't safe there, especially for women. We lived in fear of theft, religious persecution and general insecurity. That's when we decided it was time to leave.' Savitha is one of four people who were granted citizenship under the discretionary powers of the District Collectors. 'I'm proud to call myself an Indian now,' she says with a smile. She adds that her husband's brother and his family eventually returned to Karachi after spending some time in India. 'They weren't comfortable here. They felt more connected to their relatives back home,' she says. Savitha remembers that she was not able to attend her father's funeral in 2015. 'I could only go in 2017, after we managed to get a visa for my son too,' she says. Her husband has never gone back. The family belongs to a community in India classified as a Scheduled Caste (SC). However, due to the absence of documentation, her son will not get any of the social welfare benefits that the community can claim. Another migrant-turned-citizen, Manoj Parmar, 49, who works at a petrol station in Rajkot, says he became aware of the caste system — and that his community falls under the Scheduled Castes — only after arriving in India. His great-grandfather had migrated from Botad to Karachi in search of work following a severe drought, and eventually settled there. Before moving to India in February 2012, Manoj worked at the Karachi Electric Supply Company. 'There, even my subordinate would refuse to follow my work instructions and insult me because of my religion. I thought, 'If this is my condition despite being educated, what will happen to my children?' The situation was only going to get worse, so I came to India,' he says. 'Now, my children want reservation rights.' Rules and regulations The CAA Rules authorise Central government officials stationed in States — including those from the Directorate of Census Operations, India Post, Railways, National Informatics Centre (NIC), and Intelligence Bureau (IB) — to handle and process citizenship applications. Once an application is submitted online, the applicant is required to appear before a District Level Committee headed by the Superintendent of Post Office as the designated officer. The committee also includes representatives from the NIC, IB, Railways, and the district administration. 'The process is usually completed within a couple of weeks, including antecedent verification by IB, but if there are errors in the application — such as mismatched names or issues with supporting documents — applicants are informed and asked to make the necessary corrections before resubmitting,' says an officer from the India Post in Bhuj. According to the official, 18 people from the Kutch district have been granted citizenship under the CAA so far, and another 97 applications are in the pipeline. 'District officials have informed us that now only 115 Pakistani nationals are in Kutch, including the 97 whose applications are currently pending. The rest have not applied yet,' the official adds. Waiting for the gates to open For the children of those who have waited for citizenship, life means growing up in a country they call home, yet don't belong. They cannot take admission in government schools, and have no access to reservations in education and jobs. Sending children abroad is complex. Sooroji's younger brother, Laxmansinh Sodha, 53, a graduate of Karachi Medical College with an MBBS degree, who now runs a clinic in Morbi, says he had hoped to send his son Mehtabsinh, 17, — who qualified for NEET — to Russia to study medicine, after facing issues with admission in India due to incomplete documentation. 'But that too didn't work out because he doesn't have an Indian passport.' His education shows he is from India, while his passport is from Pakistan. 'Now, we've enrolled him in an LLB programme at a private university here. His citizenship is still pending.' Laxmansinh migrated to India in November 2012 and was granted citizenship earlier this year. His first visit to India was in 1971, he recalls, when he was just six months old. During the Indo-Pak war, his parents fled to India and took shelter in the Zura camp for nearly three years. However, due to limited facilities at the camp and a lack of livelihood options, the family eventually returned to Tharparkar in Pakistan. 'I practised medicine there for nearly 10 years, and left everything behind and came to India, fearing forced conversions and attacks on Hindus,' he explains. Sitting beside him is Netsinh Sodha, 56, who once worked as a patwari (village accountant) in Tharparkar district. He left his government job and migrated to India with his wife and seven children in May 2014. Now settled in Morbi, he runs a cloth shop and is among those who have been granted Indian citizenship. While Netsinh welcomes CAA, he raises concerns about the implementation process, alleging that staff involved in handling applications often harass applicants. 'The Act clearly states that even a single document or visa entry stamp is enough to apply for citizenship under CAA, yet many officials lack clarity on the provisions. As a result, many migrants are facing unnecessary hurdles,' he says. 'Applicants are being forced to submit their forms five to 10 times over minor issues. This is something the government must urgently address.' He says many Hindus are still 'stuck' in the neighbouring country and are waiting for the authorities to start issuing visas again. In April 2025, after the Pahalgam attack, India suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals. Edited by Sunalini Mathew
