What our aspirants can learn from Mamdani

New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a campaign event in New York on November 3, 2025.[AFP]

When Zohran Mamdani corrected Andrew Cuomo for mispronouncing his name, saying, “The name is Mamdani. M.A.M.D.A.N.I.,” the moment instantly became a TikTok phenomenon, remixed with Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girl and attracting more than 100 million views.

But the virality was only a footnote. What followed was one of the most astonishing political upsets of the decade, the kind of victory that forces the world to rethink not just campaigns, but communication itself.