Mamdani pledges 'audacious' agenda

Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani vowed to govern "expansively and audaciously" and deliver an agenda of affordability for New Yorkers as he thanked his family from "Kampala to Delhi" after being ceremonially sworn-in as the 112th mayor of New York City.

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He was administered the oath of office by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont at a ceremonial inauguration outside City Hall on Thursday, the seat of New York City government. A day earlier, he was formally sworn-in by New York Attorney General Letitia James at a private ceremony in an old subway station.

In his 25-minute speech, the first South Asian and Muslim mayor of largest US city, said that "beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try." He recounted a conversation with a supporter that has since gone viral. "I spoke to a Pakistani Samina," he said, who told him the movement had fostered auntie named "softness in people's hearts," adding in Hindi, ""Logon ke dil badal gaye hain' (people's hearts have changed)."

If there is no good neighbourliness, he added, there can be no expectation of its rewards. How India exercises its right to defend itself, he stressed, is India's decision alone.