Hyderabad: New York’s newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, celebrated his landmark victory by drawing inspiration from India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. In his victory address, Mamdani invoked Nehru’s iconic “Tryst with Destiny” speech to describe what he called a new dawn in New York politics.

“A moment comes rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance,” Mamdani quoted, echoing Nehru’s words from the eve of India’s independence in 1947.

Mamdani won the NYC Mayoral election, getting 948,202 votes (50.6 per cent), with 83 per cent of the votes in.

Mamdani told supporters that New York had “stepped out from the old into the new,” framing his triumph as the start of a transformative political era. Referring to his campaign’s success, he said it had “toppled a political dynasty” and opened the door for a new generation of leadership committed to equality and justice.

By invoking Nehru’s legacy, Mamdani positioned his victory not merely as a political win but as a historic shift toward inclusivity, progress, and renewal values deeply rooted in Nehru’s vision for a free and democratic society.

Mamdani’s campaign centered on affordability and economic justice. He pledged to freeze rents, establish city-owned grocery stores, provide free bus service, and expand access to affordable childcare.

One of the most contentious moments in the race came over Mamdani’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Critics accused him of not forcefully denouncing the phrase “globalise the intifada,” which pro-Israel advocates argue incites violence, while supporters view it as a call for Palestinian liberation.