Washington, Nov. 6 -- Zohran Mamdani, 34, has been elected mayor of New York City, several news media organisations projected on Tuesday night. With 90% of votes counted, Mamdani had won 50.4% of them, compared to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's 41.6% in a closely fought contest. A year after he launched his campaign for mayor as a little-known state assemblyman, Mamdani is set to become the first Indian-origin leader and the first Muslim to lead America's richest and largest city. Born to filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran Mamdani cut his teeth in New York City politics as a community organiser and campaign manager. A self-described democratic socialist, Zohran Mamdani first made headlines in 2020 when he challenged and then defeated a five-term incumbent to win his seat in the New York State Assembly. He remained a little-known figure until last year when he launched his campaign to win the Democratic nomination to be the Mayor of New York City. At the time, Cuomo was favoured to win. Although Cuomo was forced to step down as governor in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, he retained the support of the Democratic party operatives and its existing base of donors. Zohran Mamdani announced a campaign platform focused on appealing to the everyday concerns of New Yorkers. He backed rent freezes, free bus services, and the establishment of government-run grocery stores to help people amid rising prices of essentials. While his platform was popular, Mamdani shot to viral stardom with a slick social media campaign. His videos captured the young assemblyman walking the streets of New York, engaging in one-on-one conversations with voters and even referencing Bollywood movies. After that, Mamdani rose swiftly in the polls before defeating Cuomo for the Democratic nomination in June this year. Cuomo contested the mayoral election an independent candidate. Zohran Mamdani's energy and grassroots campaigning marked him out in a year when the Democratic Party has been lambasted for its perceived weakness in combating Republican President Donald Trump. His connection with voters and populist policies led many to hail his brand of progressive politics as the future for the Democratic Party. The party's more moderate establishment has been lukewarm about Mamdani, given concerns that his policies would hurt the Democrats outside liberal, urban, cosmopolitan centres like New York. Trump also took to Truth Social network to denounce Mamdani as a "communist", a term that evokes derision in US. Mamdani's campaign has also not been without controversy. His criticism of Israeli policies in Gaza and his refusal to condemn phrases like "globalise the intifada (uprising)" led to questions about his acceptability to Jewish voters. Mamdani also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likening him to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he referred to as a "war criminal". That criticism has made him controversial among some Indian-American groups. "This mayor [Eric Adams] has made life unaffordable all while supporting PM Modi and an Indian government approach to violence against our community members," Mamdani said at a gurdwara in the final stretches of the campaign, explaining his motivations for running in the election. Ajay Bhutoria, who serves as deputy national finance director for the Democratic Party, said this was a very wrong comment to make, especially at a gurdwara with the purpose of dividing communities further. "This attempt was made, and I strongly condemn this comment by Mamdani, which was unnecessary and unwanted." Bhutoria added that Mamdani's win showed that the Democrats could still capture the imagination of younger voters....