BJD trusts young fighters to take on rivals

Bhubaneswar: As it seeks a record sixth term in the state, the BJD is betting big on young faces to see it through in the upcoming elections. The party has fielded at least 21 candidates for Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, who are below 40 years of age.

While the focus on youth may indicate the ruling party’s intention to nurture a new generation of leaders, it is also an attempt to thwart the anti-incumbency wave against the current generation of MLAs and MPs. However, a large portion of those elected are dynasts – sons, daughters of sitting MLAs, MPs or leaders.

So far the party has fielded candidates for 126 assembly and 21 parliamentary constituencies. At least 18 assembly candidates are below 40 years of age, while three of the party’s MP candidates in Aska, Dhenkanal and Koraput are below 30 years of age.
The youngest among those chosen by the party to contest for the assembly constituencies is Deepali Das, daughter of slain minister Naba Kishore Das, who is 27. She was elected in the by-election last year after the death of her father and this time too she has got the party ticket from Jharsuguda.

Ankit, engineer son of former minister Pratap Jena, who will contest from Mahanga, is 28 years old. Dharakot Shahi Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, daughter of former Sanakhemundi MLA Nandini Devi, is another youth to be fielded by the party. Geetanjali is the chairperson of Dharakote block of Ganjam district.
Party’s Padampur candidates Barsha Singh Bariha and Souvik Biswal, aged around 30, will contest from Chaudwar-Cuttack seat. BJD’s Birmitrapur candidate Rohit Joseph Tirkey and his Badass counterpart Anusaya Patra are both 34 years old. Khalikote and Pipili MLAs – Suryamani Baidya and Rudra Pratap Maharathi – who will contest for the seats, both are 35 years of age. Devi Tripathi and Lakshmipriya Naik, a year older than Suryamani and Rudra, will contest from Banki and Chitrakonda seats respectively.

Puri candidate Sunil Mohanty, son of BJD stalwart late Maheshwar Mohanty, is 38. Bishnubra Routray, candidate from Basudevpur, and Prabhu Jani, the regional party face in Lakshmipur, are both 39 years old. The eldest among them are Navina Naik (Umerkot), Rupesh Panigrahi (Paralakhemundi), Nihar Ranjan Behera (Loisingha) and Sanghamitra Swain (Sorada), who are all 40 years old.
As far as MP seats are concerned, Aska Lok Sabha candidate Ranjita Sahu is only 32 years old, while Avinash Samal, candidate from Dhenkanal constituency, is 36 years old. Koraput MP candidate Kaushalya Hikka is 37 years old. In the 2019 elections, BJD’s youngest Lok Sabha MP was Chandrani Murmi, an engineer, who won the Keonjhar parliamentary constituency by defeating two-time MP Ananth Nayak.
Party sources said that this time youth have been given priority in the party’s nomination for MP and MLA seats because Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik believes that investment in youth is investment in the future.