New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- With barely five days to go for New York's mayoral election, it is remarkable that whether or not its Indian American candidate, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, wins has become a sort of a litmus test for the Democratic Party.

Although many political observers do not consider New York's mayoral contest as a national bellwether, it is clear that the Democratic Party is being at least partly seen from Mamdani's prism. That alone is an extraordinary political achievement for Mamdani, son of Mahmood Mamdani, a Mumbai-born Ugandan academic and political commentator and Mira Nair, a Rourkela-born, Oscar nominated filmmaker.

Growing Support

There are those who are already using the term "Mamdani Democrats", meaning extra lef...