Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has admitted he plans to take aggressive action on his budget-busting socialist agenda, defiantly declaring: “It is a mandate.”

Fresh off the back of his election victory, the Democratic socialist wasted no time in vowing to follow through on his bold and unabashedly progressive plans — including taxing the rich.

“I’m also looking to be clear about the mandate that we won over the course of this election, and it is a mandate to deliver on the agenda that we ran on,” the 34-year-old told The New York Times on Wednesday.

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani leaves following a press conference at the Unisphere in the Queens borough of New York City on Nov. 5, 2025. REUTERS

A copy of the New York Post headlines Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral victory, at the post of trader Daniel Kryger, center, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, on Nov. 5, 2025. AP

Mamdani’s audacious admission came after the Democratic Socialists of America “army” quickly took credit for his win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — crowing, too, that it was a “clear mandate” for its radical, far-left agenda.

“Our movement is at the heart of Zohran’s campaign,” Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of DSA’s New York City chapter, said.

“This overwhelming victory is a clear mandate for a democratic socialist agenda to make New York City one that people can afford.

Zohran Mamdani held his first press conference after being elected the next mayor of New York City. AP

“MAGA billionaires spent millions to prop up Andrew Cuomo and try to stop this movement, but we’ve proved once again: they have money, but we have power,” he added.

The newly emboldened mayor-elect’s remarks also doubled down on his fire-breathing victory speech from Tuesday night where he repeatedly insisted his win was a “mandate for change.”

Supporters watch as Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech following his mayoral victory at an election-night watch party at the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden on Nov. 4, 2025 in Queens, New York City. Getty Images

Critics were quick to raise alarm about Mamdani’s shift in tone — with some noting that the rage-filled speech was a “character switch” and far-cry from the appeasing demeanor he tried to exude on the campaign trail.

“My supporters and our movement are hungry for a politics of consistency — a politics that actually focuses on the needs of working people,” Mamdani said in the post-election interview.

Zohran Mamdani appears on a poster from the NYC DSA. @nycDSA/X

“I think that our tax system is an example of the many ways in which working people have been betrayed.”
So far, Mamdani hasn’t named any DSA members who will join the ranks of his transition team.

Instead, he only announced Wednesday a transition team largely made up of City Hall veterans who served under former mayors Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, as well as soon-to-depart Mayor Eric Adams.

The lefty group’s proud card-carrying members, though, were said to be crowing behind the scenes about soon infiltrating City Hall, sources told The Post.

Zohran Mamdani with his wife Rama Duwaji during his victory speech on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

Asked if he planned appoint any DSA allies, Mamdani appeared to dodge the question, saying “I am looking forward to having every member of my coalition be a part of our transition.”

“The transition will be guided by the work that we need to do, and the coalition that brought me to this point has done an immense amount of work and has also been leading in the fight for dignity, for a working-class Democratic Party.”