Beyond Mamdani’s Inauguration: What’s in store for the Democratic party in 2026

In Focus by The Hindu · Dec 31, 2025 · 41m

Zohran Mamdani, an avowed socialist, will be sworn in as New York City’s new mayor on January 1. His rise has revived old debates about the future of the U.S. Democratic Party.

For most of the last century, the Democratic Party offered a clear promise. If you worked hard, if you were new to the country, if the economy knocked you down, this was your political home. But today, that bond feels weaker. Registrations for the Democratic Party are slipping. Younger voters are drifting away. Many longtime supporters say that the party sounds less like a movement and more like a kind of a corporate…