00:06Meet Zoran Mamdani, he's only 33 years old and he just won a major election.
00:10Good morning everyone.
00:13He defeated Andrew Cuomo, a political heavyweight, to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.
00:19Tomorrow's the election and we've just got a new poll.
00:21The first from an independent pollster that has us winning the final round.
00:25Mamdani is now the frontrunner to win when the mayoral elections take place in November because the current scandal hit mayor is deeply unpopular and the Republican candidate does not stand much of a chance because New York is solidly democratic.
00:37So the mayor of New York City, that's like being the top boss of one of the world's biggest cities.
00:41In Queens, the giant urban centre where Mamdani is already a state lawmaker, he's known as a democratic socialist.
00:48And he's Muslim who raps about his nani, wears his Muslim heritage on his sleeve.
00:55Americans also find him different because he wants to make life easier for regular people.
01:02Think Bernie Sanders, but much, much younger.
01:05Zoran has run an extraordinary campaign.
01:08Zoran's main idea is simple. New York is becoming too expensive for ordinary families.
01:13So he wants to do things like make buses free, freeze rents on rent-stabilized apartments and even create city-owned grocery stores to make food cheaper for everyone.
01:22Our campaign is surging and you want to know why? Because the ideas we're fighting for are popular.
01:27But his critics say Zoran is too young and does not have enough experience.
01:30He has also stirred controversy with his views on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
01:34He openly criticizes Modi's government, accusing it of being unfair to minorities, especially Muslims, and not doing enough to protect human rights.
01:41President Narendra Modi, and this will go to you first, come on.
01:46Zoran grew up privileged. His mother is Meera Nail, a famous filmmaker from India, and his dad, Mahmood Bondani, is a professor at Columbia University.
01:54But he believes everyone should have a comfortable life, not just people with money.
01:58He even went on a hunger strike once to help taxi drivers clear their debts.
02:02We, my friends, are going to win the city we deserve. And it's going to be one we can afford.
02:10Mandani was competing against people who are much older and more experienced, including Gomo, the former governor of New York,
02:16who had to resign following multiple sexual harassment allegations.
02:19If Zoran wins in November, he'll be one of the youngest Meers ever and the first South Asian Mayor in New York City's history.
