Congress experiments with young faces

They are young, raring to go and have left behind lavish lifestyles to switch to khadi.

They are young, raring to go and have left behind lavish lifestyles to switch to khadi. Call it the Rahul effect or the Congress’ desire to show off its younger faces, the party has given around 88 per cent of tickets in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to youngsters, most of them not more than 40 years of age.

Meet Prashant Vashishth, the Congress candidate from Anoopshaher constituency in Bulandshahr district. He is 30, holds an MBA degree in systems management, and was a banker before taking to active politics. He says he is keen to change things and thought that by being part of the system, he can do it. “I always felt the urge to do something for my people, my country, but also felt that there was something wrong with the system,” he says. So Vashisth, who was already associated with the party because of his father, decided to jump into the political bandwagon. “I feel that the youth should come forward and become a part of politics. The way Rahul Gandhi is leading the party is truly inspiring,” says Vashishth.

Pankaj Mallik, 29, contesting from Bhagra in Muzaffarnagar district, plays cricket and is a former NSUI leader. He is also the son of former Rajya Sabha MP Harinder Singh Mallik.

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“My father has been the local MLA four times and has nurtured this place. I too wanted to serve the people here and give them a better lifestyle. So I decided to fight from here,” says Mallik.

Sanjeev Mishra, an MA in English and sociology, says it was Rahul Gandhi’s charisma that pulled him towards the Congress. Now the Congress candidate for the Farrukhabad seat, Mishra was earlier associated with BSP. He says he was “truly inspired by the fact that Rahul Gandhi has infused so much young charm in the party. It’s the responsibility of youngsters like us to change things for the better and I want to do the same.”

Manoj Tiwari, 38, a lawyer, decided to take over the political reins from his father Babulal, a Congress activist, and the party decided to field him from Mahoba.

Young blood. Fresh ideas. Once polling is over, it will be clear if the party’s experiment has succeeded.