Zohran Mamdani quotes Jawaharlal Nehru in victory speech after NYC mayoral election | Watch

Zohran Mamdani

Addressing his supporters after winning the New York Mayoral polls, Democrat Zohran Mamdani quoted the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his victory speech.

Mamdani invoked Nehru’s words from his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ address -- “A moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.” He added, “Tonight, we have stepped from the old into the new.”

Mamdani scripted history as he emerged victorious in the closely-watched New York City mayoral election, defeating political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

#BreakingNews‌ 🇺🇸 NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani @ZohranKMamdani mentioned Jawahar Lal Nehru's words (1st Indian🇮🇳 Prime Minister) in his victory speech.#USPoli#India#Zohran#JawaharlalNehrupic.twitter.com/OMWXrKBmAs

— Sameer Kaushal 🇨🇦❤🇮🇳 (@itssamonline) November 5, 2025

In his speech, Mamdani thanked his family and said, "For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands."

"And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater. Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it." "The future is in our hands," he said, as the crowd cheered.

With Mamdani’s win, New York City and the US entered a new political and ideological era with the democratic socialist now at the helm of the citadel of capitalism.

Mamdani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. He became a naturalised US citizen only recently in 2018.

“Friends, we have toppled a political dynasty. I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life, but let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few. New York tonight you have delivered,” Mamdani said.

“We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to hope that the impossible could be made possible, and we won because we insisted that no longer would politics be something that is done to us. Now, it is something that we do,” he added further.