India has a majority of the population living in its youth years. It would be no coincidence to see some of them lurking in politics. Even though the political space is considered to be for the elders who have lived through enough experience to decide what’s wrong and right. However, such is the principle of democracy that it gives every citizen an equal chance to take a veteran head-to-head. Back in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a total of 64 MPs were elected who were below the 40-year-old mark. In an election where an estimated 8.2 crore first-time voters exercised their franchise, possibly tilting the scales in several constituencies, it is always fascinating to see what the result yields. From Tejasvi Surya to Abhishek Banerjee, here are 10 young MPs from the 17th Lok Sabha elections:
1. Indra Hang Subba, 32: Winning after contesting his first-ever elections in 2019, Indira Hang Subba aimed at reducing the unemployment rate in his state of Sikkim. Hailing from Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, Subba had never participated in politics even during his college life.
2. Abhishek Banerjee, 32: Before winning the 2019 elections with the Trinamool Congress, Abhishek Banerjee had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well at the age of 26. He was the hotshot amongst the Trinamool ranks in the 17th Lok Sabha elections and so he delivered, defeating BJP candidate Nilanjan Roy by 3.2 lakh votes.
3. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, 33: Only 32 and winning his second election during the 2019 Lok sabha elections, Kinjarapu ram Mohan Naidu is a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP from Srikakulam. He defeated Duvvada Srinivas of the YSR Congress Party.
4. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, 34: Son of Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde, Shrikant made his debut in 2014 at the age of 27. Five years later, Shinde has retained the seat for the Shiv Sena and at 32, is the party’s youngest MP.
5. Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, 35: Son of a carpenter, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal he is the youngest parliamentarian from Ladakh at the age of 33. He defeated Independent candidate Sajjad Hussain by 9,763 votes and belongs to the BJP.
6. Praveen Kumar Nishad, 32: Switching from the Samajwadi Party (SP) to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Praveen Kumar Nishad became a parliamentarian after winning from Sant Kabir Nagar. He belongs to the community of boatmen and fishermen and is now seeking SC status for his community, Nishads.
7. Tejasvi Surya, 30: One of the most active young MPs in the BJP, Tejasvi Surya has already established himself as a future prospect in the BJP. Surya won a Parliamentary seat from South Bangalore, defeating Congress’s B K Hariprasad by over 3 lakh votes.
8. Prajwal Revanna, 30: son of Karnataka minister H D Revanna, was eventually the only candidate from the Gowda family and the JD(S) to win a seat in the 2019 polls.
9. Nisith Pramanik, 35: Recently inducted as the Minister of State for Home Affairs of India, Nisith Pramanik is a Member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. As of 2021, at the age of 35, he became the youngest minister in the Union Cabinet. He won the parliamentarian seat from Cooch Behar.
10. Shantanu Thakur, 39: Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shantanu Thakur is the son of ex-Bengal Minister Manjul Krishna Thakur. In the 2019 general election, he became the first non-TMC MP to be elected in this constituency since its delimitation when he was elected on BJP's ticket.
