Youngest MLA in Bengal Assembly: TMC’s Madhuparna Thakur set to become the youngest MLA

Pradip Chatterjee, MP, 14 July 2024, Kolkata: Madhuparna Thakur, daughter of Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Bala Thakur, won from Bagdah Assembly Constituency in the by-elections by a margin of 33,455 votes. 

She is set to become the youngest MLA in the history of Bengal Assembly. 

Madhuparna secured 1,07,706 votes while BJP's Binay Kumar Biswas got 74,251. Left-Congress alliance candidate Gouraditya Biswas fell far behind polling just 8,189.

In the last elections for this constituency in 2021, there were a total of five candidates: Biswajit Das (BJP), Paritosh Kumar Saha (TMC), Kirttaniya Prabir Bapi (Congress), Santosh Biswas (BSP). This seat was won by the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections. In the 2016 Assembly poll, Congress candidate Dulal Bar won from this seat. 

In the 2011 Assembly elections Trinamool Congress candidate Upendranath Biswas won from Bagdah seat. 

The biggest challenge for the 25-year-old Madhuparna was to overcome the influence of her cousin, a BJP leader and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur who has again been re-elected from the Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency this year. 

The pro-Trinamool faction of the organisation was led by Mamata Bala Thakur. Madhuparna created a history by winning the by-elections from the Matua-infested Bagdah seat at the age of only 25 ending the BJP's dominance in the region. 

Till now late Trinamool Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee was the only political personality who became a member of the Assembly at a very early age. 

Biswajit Das who contested on a BJP ticket in the 2021 Assembly elections from Bagdah after switching over from Trinamool Congress managed to secure a victory. Das again joined the Trinamool Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections this year and contested the poll from Bongaon Lok Sabha seat on TMC’s ticket but lost to BJP’s Shantanu Thakur. 

Bagdah Assembly falls under Bongaon Lok Sabha. BJP had fielded Binay Kumar Biswas as its candidate for Bagdah bypoll this time. 

After winning the seat, Madhuparna said: “The people of Bagdah have seen the development carried out by the Mamata Banerjee government. People have realized that BJP would do nothing for the development of the people.” 

A newcomer to politics, Madhuparna, a resident of Thakurnagar, is a first-year postgraduate student at the West Bengal State University in Barasat. She hails from the family of the Matua community’s founder Sri Harichand Thakur. 

The Dalit Matua community has a sizeable presence at Bagdah and Ranaghat South assembly seats which had gone for polls on July 10th alongside Raiganj and Manicktala in West Bengal. The byelection for this Assembly constituency was necessitated because of resignation of Biswajit Das. 

There were a total of nine candidates in the fray. The ruling Trinamool Congress won from Bagda Assembly constituency in 2011 and 2016. BJP managed to win the Bagdah assembly seat in 2021.

Other youngest MPS and MLAs 

Another record setting MP was Chandrani Murmu who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Keonjhar, Odisha in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Biju Janata Dal at the age of 26 (born 16 June 1993). When first elected, Chandrani Murmu was the youngest Indian Member of Parliament. 

Arun Verma (born 12 June 1986) was India's second youngest MLA (at the age of 25) of Sadar constituency of Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a member of the Samajwadi Party. He is an Indian musical artist, politician and actor. 

He was previously MLA after Umed Singh of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. Arun Verma was also awarded as Adarsh Yuva Vidhayak Puraskar (Awards for Best Young Legislator). Arun is also identified as one of the closest MLA's to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and member of his team Eleven. 

Umed Singh (5 October 1936 – 29 September 2006) was a politician from Rajasthan state, India. Singh was elected for a first five-year term as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Barmer district, Rajasthan, in 1962, on an Independent ticket.

In 1980, he was elected for a second five-year term as MLA from Deedwana constituency on a Janata Party ticket. In 1985, he was elected for a third five-year term as MLA from Sheo constituency on a Janata Party ticket.