BHUBANESWAR: As it seeks a record sixth-term in the state, the BJD seems to be betting big on young faces to see it through the upcoming polls. The party has put up at least 21 candidates for Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, who are below the age of 40.
While the focus on youth may indicate an intent of the ruling party to nurture a new generation of leaders it is also a bid to thwart anti-incumbency against the present crop of legislators and MPs. However, a major chunk of the chosen ones are dynasts - sons, daughters of the present MLAs, MPs or leaders.
So far, the party has nominated candidates for 126 Assembly and 21 parliamentary constituencies. At least 18 of the Assembly candidates are under the age of 40 while three of the party’s MP candidates in Aska, Dhenkanal and Koraput are in their 30s.
Among those chosen by the party to fight for the Assembly segments, the youngest is Deepali Das, daughter of slain minister Naba Kishore Das, who is 27 years old. She was elected in the bypoll after her father’s death last year and has received the party ticket from Jharsuguda this time too.
Former minister Pratap Jena’s engineer son Ankit, who will contest from Mahanga, is 28 years old. Dharakote royal Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, the daughter of former Sanakhemundi MLA Nandini Devi is another youngster to be fielded by the party. Gitanjali is the chairperson of Dharakote block in Ganjam district.
In their early 30s are the party’s Padampur candidate Barsha Singh Bariha and Sauvik Biswal who will fight for Choudwar-Cuttack seat. BJD’s Birmitrapur candidate Rohit Joseph Tirkey and his Badasahi counterpart Anusaya Patra are both 34 years old. MLAs of Khallikote and Pipili - Suryamani Baidya and Rudra Pratap Maharathy - who will fight for the seats are both aged 35. A year older than Suryamani and Rudra are Devi Tripathy and Laxmipriya Naik who will fight from Banki and Chitrakonda seats respectively.
Puri candidate Sunil Mohanty, son of BJD heavyweight late Maheswar Mohanty, is 38. Basudevpur candidate Bishnubrata Routray and Laxmipur face of the regional party Prabhu Jani are both 39. The eldest among all are Navina Naik (Umerkote), Rupesh Panigrahi (Paralakhemundi), Nihar Ranjan Behera (Loisingha) and Sanghamitra Swain (Sorada), who are all in their 40s.
As far as MP seats are concerned, Aska Lok Sabha candidate Ranjita Sahu is only 32 years old, while Abinash Samal who is the candidate from Dhenkanal constituency is 36. Koraput’s MP candidate Kaushalya Hikka is 37 years old. In the 2019 polls, BJD’s youngest Lok Sabha MP was Chandrani Murmi, an engineer who won the Keonjhar Parliamentary constituency after defeating two-time MP Ananta Nayak.
Party sources said youth has been a priority in the party’s nomination for MP and MLA seats this time as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik believes investment in youth is an investment in future.