Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Zohran Mamdani has taken the oath as the first Muslim Mayor of New York City at a historic ceremony at a decommissioned subway station in Manhattan. The Indian-origin Democrat was sworn in as the Mayor of America’s biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath. “This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said.
The 34-year-old Democrat’s swearing-in ceremony was administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally, at the old City Hall station, one of the city’s original subway stops that is known for its stunning arched ceilings, with his wife, Rama Duaji, holding the Quran.
He will be sworn in again, in grander style, in a public ceremony at City Hall later in the day by US Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes. That will be followed by what the new administration is billing as a public block party on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes”, famous for its ticker-tape parades.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom, rent-stabilised apartment in the outer borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan. He now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country’s most-watched politicians. Born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1991 to acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair and scholar-activist Mahmood Mamdani, Mamdani’s story starts at the intersection of diasporas. In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, he is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, he is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.
