Bhubaneswar, April 19: The ruling BJD has prioritised youths while declaring candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections.
At least 21 candidates are below 40-year-old among the 21 Lok Sabha and 126 Assembly nominees of the party.
Age of three Lok Sabha candidates – Aska, Dhenkanal and Koraput - is below 40-year.
Aska candidate Ranjita Sahu is 32-year-old. Dhenkanal candidate Abinash Samal's age is 36 and Koraput nominee Koushalya Hikka is 37.
Similarly, at least 18 youths of below 40-age-group have been awarded party ticket for Assembly seats.
BJD Jharsuguda Assembly constituency candidate Dipali Das is 27-year-old youngest candidate.
The age of Mahanga candidate Ankit Pratap Jena is 28. Gitanjali Devi of Sanakhemundi is also 28-year-old.
The party has fielded 31-year-old Barsha Singh Bariha from Padmapur, 32-year-old Souvik Biswal from Cuttack Choudwar, 34-year-old Rohit Joseph Tirkey and Anusaya Patra from Biramitrapur and Badasahi constituencies respectively.
Similarly, age of Khallikote candidate Suryamani Baidya and Pipili's Rudrapratap Maharathi is 35. Banki BJD candidate Debiranjan Tripathy and Chitrakonda's Laxmipriya Nayak are 36-year-old.
Puri candidate Sunil Mohanty's age is 38 and Basudebpur's Bishnubrata Routray is 39. Party's pick for Laxmipur seat Prabhu Jani is 39-year-old while Umerkote's Nabina Nayak, Paralakhemundi's Rupesh Panigrahi, Loisingha'a Nihar Ranjan Behera and Sorada's Sanghamitra Swain are 40-year-old.
