Copyright news18
It was very much a Bollywood-ishtyle evening, not so much “Slumdog Millionaire”, but, as Zohran Mamdani’s theme song for his victory suggested, “Dhoom”. Dhoom, of course, means clamour or, even, noise. But taking a potshot at the US president himself, Mamdani asked Donald J. Trump, ironically, to “turn the volume up”. As if the boom of his victory was not loud enough for conservatives across the nation to wonder if “Dhoom” actually spells doom. Especially given that New York is the financial capital of the world. How ironic to have a declared socialist as its 111th mayor. How to explain this upsetting paradox? It’s the economy, stupid, a statement from the highly successful, from the economic point of view, US president, Bill Clinton. In Mamdani’s case, the answer maybe it’s the prices, stupid. Also, it’s the youth, stupid. No pun intended. It is the young who, spurred and stirred by clever social media campaigns, stepped out to make a difference. In the long run, this empowerment and politicisation is good for democracy when apathy, in general, rules. Which brings us to the root cause: anti-incumbency. Mamdani’s own party, not to mention the opposition, had no winnable candidate. The tainted former governor Andrew Cuomo, as Mamdani himself said, is so clearly a dynast, representing old, white privilege, that for him to have made a comeback would be nothing short of miraculous. The Republicans, already on a losing streak in the all-blue state and deep blue “city of immigrants”, had nothing to offer. Curtis Sliva was no match for Mamdani or, for that matter, for Cuomo either. But Mamdani polled over a million votes. He is also New York’s youngest mayor in the century. Nothing can take that away from him. Moreover, New York, which by no means is the only US city that levies income tax, does have one of the highest progressive rates, not ideologically but in the sense that it goes up with income, nearing almost 4 per cent at the top. Moreover, with the city’s GDP close to $1.3 trillion, which is a whopping 1/3 the size of India, a country of 1.5 billion people, Mamdani’s socialism may actually work. Taxing the rich to pay the poor has been a way of life in New York. Nothing new about it. But Mamdani’s dangerous brand of populism, unapologetic hard socialism with soft Islamism, took matters a bit too far. While the respected Pew Research Center puts New York’s Muslim population at about 3 per cent to the 8 per cent Jewish bloc, which would put them at roughly 250,000, Mamdani openly proclaimed that the former numbered over a million. Inflation Or Truth? Typical of the numbers game anywhere in the world. With rapid Muslim demographic shifts in major cities, Mamdani actually represents what may be a bigger development. At any rate, the greatest cities on both sides of the Atlantic, London, with long-serving Sadiq Khan, and Mamdani demonstrate this trend. Yet, Mamdani’s election may actually be a blessing in disguise for Trumpism in the rust belt and other parts of the country. It will consolidate the Republicans’ white American, Christian voter base and push farther left the already left-leaning Democratic party. At the same time, for those who hear Mamdani’s speech, it will be clear how out of touch with the world New York’s mayor himself, not to mention the young hopefuls who voted for him, might be. There was no mention of China, let alone of the economic, strategic, moral, even spiritual crisis that the US is going through. Rather, Mamdani himself, as woke they go, is a representative and symbol of it. Now the challenges of the real world will kick in very fast. Even when it comes to implementing his free bus ride promise. Who will cover those additional expenses? Will Mamdani’s unrealistic goals, implausible promises, and zero experience in running a city, let alone any gainful employment, an inimical federal government, not to mention overwhelming state and federal oversight rain on or ruin Mamdani’s parade–or should we say party? Because the feel-good euphoria of his victory felt just like that. A party in which revellers just wanted to get away from the pain of ordinary life. For any objective observer, the smiles were too fixed, if not fake, and the eyes too glazed, if not dazed, the rhetoric too shrill to be convincing to make the event feel real. Returning to the theme of Hollywood-Bollywood, in which his distinguished mother, Meera Nair, has made her mark, the whole spectacle felt staged and theatrical, in a tinsel-town way. Mamdani may take on Trump, a somewhat easy target. But, at least for now, he cannot run for president. Even if he gets the support of the Democratic Party, which itself is unlikely. Remember how former president Barack Obama, one of its enduring power players and controllers, let alone Chuck Schumer, US senator from New York for over a quarter of a century, did not openly endorse Mamdani. Born in Uganda, Mamdani isn’t qualified to run for president under the US Constitution. But who knows? That might change too, right? Yes, if the US keeps heading toward single-party rule as the Democratic gubernatorial victories in neighbouring New Jersey, not to distant Virginia, and less-significant public service wins deep down in Georgia, as also Gavin Newsom’s successful Proposition 50 in California, which enlarges the share of Democrats in the House, suggest. But it’s still early days for Zohran. Let’s give youth and inexperience a chance. Makarand R. Paranjape, author and public intellectual, is currently Sri Aurobindo Chair, Vedere University & Director of Education, AHCP LLC. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
