Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected as the 111th mayor of New York City, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

The 34-year-old Indian-origin lawmaker's victory was marked by a pile of historic firsts -- first South Asian and Muslim mayor, New York City's youngest leader in over a century and arguably the most influential democratic socialist in the United States. 

Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, secured the top post in New York City with more than 50 per cent of the vote.

Sixty-seven-year-old Cuomo, who was endorsed by US President Donald Trump, finished second with just over 40 per cent of the votes, while Republican Sliva got just seven per cent of the votes. 

Besides winning the New York mayoral elections, the Democrats also emerged victorious in gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, in outcomes largely seen as declining public support for Trump's second presidency.

But it was Mamdani's rise that saw the most polarising coverage in US media. While the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal hailed the Indian-origin lawmaker's victory as historic, the New York Post pegged it as the rise of Marxism in the city. 

Source:Ndtv