Why Mumbai Can’t Have Its Own Zohran Mamdani — And What NYC’s Political Shift Reveals About India’s Urban Democratic Crisis

The recent election in New York that catapulted the 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani of Indian descent, a self-confessed democratic socialist and a visible Muslim, to the highest office in the world’s most capitalised city has had the commentariat weighing in.

Indeed, why not? When was the last time that municipal elections anywhere made global headlines and had the world’s most powerful billionaires running around to hedge their interests? This could be a profound shift in local urban politics given that NYC is watched, followed, and replicated by cities around the world.

While acknowledging the parallels that exist in the conditions between the centre of global capitalism and other cities, and recognising the possibilities that Mamdani’s campaign and win—the campaign was a major refreshing change—we must ask if a ‘Zohran Mamdani’ can ever rise in Mumbai or in any Indian city for that matter. The answer hangs in the polluted air that’s now enveloping Mumbai, Delhi, and other cities across India.

The political systems and democratic architecture differ between NYC and Mumbai or Delhi, but that is not the only reason that it would be tremendously difficult, if not entirely impossible, for a Mamdani-like figure to emerge.

The mayor in Mumbai would not have the power that Mamdani will have as the NYC mayor; it’s a factor of our Constitution and the governance framework that persists despite the 74^th Amendment that devolved power to urban local bodies.

Even when, occasionally, some slices of power have been grabbed by local authorities, they have come up against the barrier of finance—state governments have been loath to see financially strong municipal corporations.

Set that aside and see the larger picture. At its heart, the NYC mayoral election was about whose city it is, who belongs, and who has the right to it. Mamdani framed this well and articulated it even better, making the contest about the affluent few who view the city as a profit-making enterprise and the millions who call it their home.

No wonder, then, that over a dozen billionaires, including the former mayor Michael Bloomberg, owner of Bloomberg LP and former three-term mayor, and Bill Ackman, hedge fund manager, poured an estimated $40 million into the anti-Mamdani campaign and organisations.

That’s some serious stuff—and food for thought for the political opposition in India that justifies its poor show, at least partly, by the massive fund flow to the ruling party.

The counter to the NYC billionaires and the elite, in Mamdani’s imagination, was not more money for his campaign, because that would be playing by their rules, but to change the game itself.

This he did in creative and resonant ways throughout the long and hard campaign, always drawing on his grassroots work over the past decade, speaking different languages, visiting different shrines, connecting with the commoners in NYC on their turf (young Jews voted for him, overriding his anti-Israel stance), even eating with his hands and embracing his own past mistakes, and so on.

And through all this, he relentlessly kept the focus on two clear issues: tax the NYC rich with an additional 2 per cent tax on those who make more than $1 million a year, and make the city affordable for the millions via rent freezes and free buses and so on.

A banner that often framed his smiling face read: ‘Afford to live & afford to dream’. Its message driven home by his words and broad smile. His youth, easy manner, and openness all presented a refreshing change from the self-important and dour image of older, career politicians like Andrew Cuomo and other contestants.

His campaign design and artworks are now being parsed for their effectiveness. Ultimately—a word Mamdani derided himself for using too often—he tried to reclaim urban governance by promising to tackle housing, transit, and climate challenges from a socialist approach against the trickle-down capitalist structure—and succeeded.

The issues in Mumbai are no different—most of the housing on the market is unaffordable for the large majority and made more for speculative investments than for people; transport is disorganised and expensive, with the affordable options such as the BEST bus system being hollowed out from within; education and health offer a choice between the long-wait, run-down public systems or the effective but unaffordable private ones; and recreation is again defined by affordability, with more and more public spaces and avenues taken over for infrastructure. Why, even basic roads and pavements are not in order.

Despite this, no political figure has shown the willingness to step out of the cosy framework that all politicians are a part of and connect with people and promise Mumbai’s millions an affordable and efficient city; no non-political contestant will be able to sustain the pressure of fighting within this framework. In effect, no one will promise a Mumbai where we can ‘afford to live and afford to dream’.

All bets are off the table that the forthcoming campaigns for the civic body elections will be, once again, on issues of identity, religion, caste and the personal attributes of a few political figures—nothing that can deliver a more liveable Mumbai. Yet, one or two parties will bag the majority of the votes and 'govern' the city. And we will have more of the same broken city. It seems highly unlikely that we will see a Mamdani-like approach to the local elections.

If, in NYC, Mamdani is able to outwit the traps that the billionaires and the Trump administration lay for him during his tenure and delivers on his promises, he will have reclaimed the city for people and shown something else that's significant: recapturing the agency of urban local leadership within an increasingly centralised national governance that places the gains of the political economy above all else. Cities with strong leadership are poised to go places; the trend may have begun with NYC.

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.

news