India, Nov. 6 -- The election of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist of South Asian and Muslim origin, as the mayor of New York will resonate beyond that city and even the US. Mamdani's spectacular success, merely six months after he joined the mayoral race, in defiance of the Democratic establishment, and against a concerted campaign by President Donald Trump who called him "my little Communist mayor" and threatened to cut federal funds in the event of his election, suggests a pushback to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda that has roiled the US since last December. There are multiple takeaways from his win. One, Mamdani, 34, built his success around a new political coalition that includes the working class, ethnic minorities, and people disgruntled with the old guard in politics. This coalition of dissenters warmed up to Mamdani as he privileged a moral politics that offered hope, equity, and justice. It was successful because New York is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities and has, historically, warmed up to inclusive political agendas. Two, his campaign, which promised a freeze on rent, universal childcare, and free public transport, reimagined the urban geography as a shared, class-agnostic space, where people are more important than the market. He concluded his post-victory address with the words, "This city belongs to you", reinforcing his reading of the mandate as one for change, a new kind of politics, and a city that people can afford. Three, young voters were key to Mamdani's success; his critics railed about his age and inexperience, and he turned both into an appeal for endorsement from the youth, whom he courted through targeted social media campaigns and Indian-style padayatra politics. In short, the Gen Z character in this result is unmistakable. The basket of his political views - pro-immigrant, pro-Palestine, pro-poor, anti-dynasty, anti-rich - endeared him to younger voters and won over many niche segments of the electorate. Now, can Mamdani - and Gen Z politics - stay the course, and deliver? Mamdani has promised that "our greatness will be anything but abstract". Delivering tangible benefits in the face of a hostile White House and against the logic of the market will test his political smarts, for sure. Power politics is ultimately the art of negotiation and compromise. The trouble with radical agendas is that these appear convincing in the abstract, but their realisation often leaves supporters disappointed. Winners get challenged in office where the abstract makes way for the concrete - budgets, social fault lines, lobbies, legacies. That said, it is the promise of Utopia that keeps politics running, and currently, Mamdani is its prophet. Good luck to him!...