Young faces take spotlight in Delhi's poll battle

With a surge in young voters expected to play a decisive role, the electoral battle has witnessed a noticeable shift in strategy.
Image used for representational purposes.
Image used for representational purposes. (Photo | Ashwin Prasath, EPS)
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NEW DELHI: The 2025 Delhi assembly election offers a fascinating generational divide, as political parties grapple with the question of whether youthful dynamism or seasoned experience holds greater appeal for voters in a rapidly changing Delhi.

With a surge in young voters expected to play a decisive role, the electoral battle has witnessed a noticeable shift in strategy, as political parties place their bets on younger candidates to capture the youth vote.

Youth-dominated AAP Vs veteran-focused rivals

While AAP has gone all-in on fresh faces. Sixty per cent of the party's candidates are below 50 years old. Meanwhile, BJP and Congress remained more reliant on experienced leadership as only 35 per cent of their candidates are young contenders.

Among the 70 contestants of the AAP, 42 are under the age of 50, including 10 candidates between the ages of 25 and 39. Another 32 candidates fall in the 40 to 49 age group. In stark contrast, the BJP and Congress have fielded fewer young contenders, with only 24 candidates each under the age of 50. Of these, six BJP candidates and 10 Congress candidates fall in the 25-39 age bracket, while the remaining 18 BJP and 14 Congress candidates are in the 40-49 age group.

The BJP and Congress, by contrast, appear to rely more heavily on experience, with 65 per cent of their candidates over the age of 50. AAP, however, has 28 candidates above the 50-year mark, compared to 46 each for the BJP and Congress.

Why focus on youth?

Voters below 50 years of age will play a crucial role in shaping the outcome and direction of the Delhi elections, ultimately determining which party will form the government.

As per the electoral records, There 45 per cent of total 1,552,458 voters in Delhi fall in the 18-40 years age group. When voters aged 40-50 years are included, the percentage of voters between 18 and 50 years exceeds 70 per cent.

As for older age groups, 15.74 per cent of voters in Delhi are above 60 years of age. Specifically, 8.87 per cent are between 60-69 years, 5 per cent are between 70-79 years, and 1.78 per cent are aged 80 years or above.

Youngest Candidates:

Ariba Khan, Age 31, a Congress candidate from Okhla and Umang Bajaj, Age 31, MCD councillor and BJP candidate from Rajinder Nagar are the youngest candidates.

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