New Delhi [India], November 6 : Businessman Robert Vadra accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of showing "disrespect and negativity" toward Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, even as India's first Prime Minister continues to receive global recognition for his legacy.
He shared a video post of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who celebrated his victory in the New York City mayoral elections on Wednesday by invoking Jawaharlal Nehru's iconic 1947 speech, 'Tryst with Destiny'.
In the Facebook post, Vadra said, "So proud of this moment -- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, continues to be recognised globally with such pride and honour."
Vadra criticised the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly showing "disrespect and negativity" towards India's first Prime Minister.
Taking a sharp dig at the ruling party, he said, "Unfortunately, it's only in our own country that the BJP, and particularly our current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, speaks of Panditji with such disrespect and negativity. They should have learned -- and it's never too late to learn -- from his resilience, experience, foresight, and vision for India."
After being projected as the winner, Zohran Mamdani, speaking to his supporters, cited Nehru's words from the speech made on India's independence, "I'm reminded of Jawahar Lal Nehru's words. A moment comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance. Tonight, New York has done just that. This new era demands clarity, courage, and vision, not excuses," he said.
He cited Nehru's words from the latter's speech on India's independence, "I'm reminded of Jawahar Lal Nehru's words. A moment comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance. Tonight, New York has done just that. This new era demands clarity, courage, and vision, not excuses," he said.
According to the latest count, Mamdani secured 50.4 per cent of the vote, defeating Democratic opponent Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Silwa.
Mamdani ran on promises to confront economic inequality and cost-of-living issues, vowing rent freezes for residents of rent-stabilised units, affordable housing construction, free and faster bus service, free childcare, city-owned grocery stores to address high food costs, and tax hikes on the wealthy, CBS News reported.
Crowds at Mamdani's campaign headquarters in Brooklyn roared in jubilation as they awaited the mayor-elect's victory speech.
The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement, "Tonight's results are a repudiation of the Trump agenda. The cruelty, chaos and greed that define MAGA radicalism and are skyrocketing costs were firmly rejected by the American people," Al Jazeera quoted. "If Republicans want to keep blindly following Donald Trump into the abyss of chaos, let them. The rest of America is moving forward," he added.
However, US President Donald Trump appeared sour in defeat with a post on Truth Social claiming that the Republicans lost as he was not on the ballot. "TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT," according to Pollsters," he posted on Truth Social.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's historic victory marks a significant moment for the city, reflecting both his policy priorities and symbolic milestone as the youngest, first Muslim, and South-Asian immigrant mayor of New York City.