"New York Vich Munda Renda": Punjabi Flavour To Zohran Mamdani Inauguration

Zohran Mamdani, the newly sworn-in New York mayor, made headlines on his inauguration day, not just for taking office as the first Muslim mayor, but for the energetic Punjabi music that closed the ceremony.

Toronto-based artist Babbu Singh, whose stage name is Babbulicious, performed his hit track "Gaddi Red Challenger", a high-energy Punjabi pop song celebrating cruising in a red Dodge Challenger. The lyrics were originally addressed to Brampton, Canada, but here the singer replaces it with New York.

Videos from the event show Mamdani grooving to the music alongside his wife, Rama Duwaji, while hundreds of attendees joined in, dancing and cheering along.

The Punjabi singer posted a picture with Mamdani on his Instagram platform with the caption, "NEW YORK VICH MUNDA RENDAAAAA" (a line from his famous song, which translates to "The guy lives in New York"). "Thank you Mr Mayor for having me perform at the inauguration," he added.

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The Punjabi, Muslim, and South Asian communities, especially in Queens and Brooklyn, catapulted Mamdani to victory.

While Mamdani's inauguration in New York City ended on a high note with Punjabi music, it also sparked reactions online. Some social media users criticised the ceremony for featuring a non-English song and for having Muslim leaders on stage. One post on X even called it an "Islamic takeover of America."

"Zohran Mamdani's inauguration in New York City has music that's not even in English and Muslim men on stage that look like they're in Afghanistan. Buckle up, America. This is the Islamic takeover of America," wrote Wall Street Apes.

Zohran Mamdani's inauguration in New York City has music that's not even in English and Muslim men on stage that look like they're in Afghanistan

Buckle up America. This is the Islamic takeover of Americapic.twitter.com/M8IOQqcoHK

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) January 1, 2026

Republican Josh Barnett wrote, "Are NYers really going to put up with this? I am guessing we will see major backlash soon."

are NYers really going to put up with this? I am guessing we will see major backlash soon

— Josh Barnett-AZ (@BarnettforAZ) January 1, 2026

The ceremony featured welcome music by DJ mOma, performances by Grammy-winning singer Lucy Dacus with "Bread and Roses", Mandy Patinkin and the PS22 Chorus of Staten Island performing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and ended with a high-energy Punjabi pop song "Gaddi Red Challenger".

In his speech, Mamdani said, "Logon ke dil badal gaye hain," which he translated as "softness in people's hearts," noting that a Pakistani woman named Samina had told him she saw his movement as bringing positivity to the city.

This isn't the first time Mamdani has marked a political milestone with South Asian music. When he won his election, his first victory speech ended with the Bollywood hit "Dhoom Machale" from the movie Dhoom.