In a major restructuring, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh is trying to rebrand itself as a youth party by appointing young leaders to key party positions. On Sunday, the party has announced the new presidents for all the 25 parliamentary constituencies in the State. The average age of all these candidates is 52 years. Kimidi Nagarjuna (32 years), a T. Kapu leader from Uttara Andhra is the leader appointed as Vizianagaram parliamentary constituency president.
It is evident from the announcement that N Chandrababu Naidu is keen on inducting new blood into the party and giving them key positions. The concept of youth in politics gained prominence in the last two general elections because of the significant increase in first-time voters who have considerable influence on the possible outcome in several constituencies across India. Realizing the importance of youth in politics, the political parties across the country are making conscious efforts to induct new faces and revamp the party structure to woo the young voters.
According to the data released by PRS, the average age of a Lok Sabha MP is 54 years. In the current session (17th Lok Sabha) 53 MPs are between the age group of 25 – 40 years, while 189 are between the age group of 41 – 55 years.
There has been a noticeable shift in the age profile of the MPs in the Lok Sabha. While only 20% of MPs were 56 years or older in the first session of Lok Sabha (1952), the number has increased to 43% in the 15th session (2009). The proportion of MPs below 40 years of age has steadily declined from 26% in the first Lok Sabha.
“The party made these appointments by giving priority to the youth as N. Chandrababu Naidu firmly believes that money, legacy, and connections shouldn’t deter the young aspiring candidates from joining politics. Apart from focusing on the youth, the party also tried to make appointments more inclusive by providing opportunities for the candidates from the different castes. The recent appointment is one of the strategic decisions to make TDP a more inclusive party with strengthened cadre,” said a senior party source.
“He (Naidu) reiterated on several platforms that youth would be given priority in the party and 33 percent of the seats in the party will be allocated for youth,” the source added.
