New York is facing the prospect of electing a staunchly socialist pro-Palestine mayor who wants to control food prices and almost double the minimum wage. The city appears to be lurching to the Left after Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old outsider, clinched the Democratic nomination, defeating Andrew Cuomo, the moderate establishment candidate. Mr Mamdani is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause with a string of celebrity endorsements and more than a million followers on Instagram. He will contest the November election as a front-runner in a city that has not elected a Republican since 2009. But he may face stiff competition from independents. Recommended His victory in a primary on Tuesday was seen as a litmus test for a Democrat party still licking its wounds following Donald Trump’s victory in November. Born in Uganda, his family moved to New York when he was seven. He has posted campaign videos speaking entirely in Urdu and mixed with Bollywood clips. He also speaks Spanish. He is a fierce critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, putting him at odds with much of the Democratic establishment. His Muslim faith has also been weaponised by some Maga Republicans, including Charlie Kirk, a populist media personality and podcaster with access to Mr Trump’s inner circle. “Twenty-four years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim socialist is on pace to run New York City,” Mr Kirk tweeted. He added: “The power centres of the West will have Muslim mayors. You become what you import.” But it is Mr Mamdani’s policies that have been most eye-catching. In videos posted during the primary race that routinely went viral – particularly on TikTok – he called for free bus rides, universal childcare for New Yorkers with children aged six weeks to five years, and rent controls. He wants to plough $70 billion (£51 billion) into housing and almost double the minimum wage from $16 to $30 an hour. One of Mr Mamdani’s most controversial policies is city-controlled supermarkets, where local authorities would get to decide how much food costs. Business leaders have already threatened to leave the city over the proposal. John Catsimatidis, the chief executive of grocery chain Gristedes , said he would consider selling or moving his stores if Mr Mamdani is elected. “If the city of New York is going socialist, I will definitely close, or sell, or move or franchise the Gristedes locations,” he told Fox News. During the campaign, tweets by Mr Mamdani resurfaced, which called for the New York Police Department to be defunded. “Queer liberation means defund the police,” he said in one post in 2020. His high-profile supporters include Emily Ratajkowski, the actress and model, Rachel Zegler, the Snow White actress who regularly posts pro-Palestinian comments on social media, and singer Lorde, who in 2017 cancelled a concert in Tel Aviv after pressure from activists. As well as being New York’s most Left-leaning mayor, he would also become the city’s first Muslim leader in a city that is home to about one million Muslims . Mr Mamdani wove his faith into his campaign, delivering speeches at mosques and speaking to voters while fasting for Ramadan. In 2021, Mr Mamdani described himself as an anti-Zionist. “It is Palestine that brought me into organising, and it is Palestine that I will always organise for,” he told a crowd in New York. “Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism and in the anti-Zionist movement that I believe in and belong to, there is no room for anti-Semitism,” he added. Last week, Mr Mamdani said that “globalise the intifada” was a legitimate expression that could be used by Palestinian supporters, which earned him staunch criticism from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, which is a word that means ‘struggle’,” he said as he defended his position. The museum hit back: “Since 1987, Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history.” Trip Yang, a political strategist, told the BBC the 33-year-old’s victory against Mr Cuomo was the “biggest upset in modern NYC history”. “A massive win for Zohran Mamdani that shows that when Donald Trump is president, New York Democrats want to see their leaders fight with enthusiasm and courage, and that’s what Zohran showed voters.” Mr Cuomo had looked unbeatable as he sought to make a political comeback after facing sexual assault allegations in 2021. He told The New York Times he was still considering whether to run as an independent in November.