It was at a small family dinner when the then 28-year old Zohran Mamdani told Ruchira Gupta that he wanted to go into electoral politics. Six years on, he has been elected mayor of New York City. His was an old-fashioned victory, she writes, rooted in honesty and principle – just like the man she knows him to be

There’s a clarity about Mamdani’s message that stands in sharp contrast to most Democratic politicians

Guardian US writer Adam Gabbatt and columnist Mehdi Hasan explore how Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani came from nowhere to the brink of becoming mayor of New York City