Samajwadi Party’s Pushpendra Saroj is in the running to become India’s youngest MP, contesting from the reserved seat of Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh. The 25-year-old Dalit candidate, who is the son of SP leader Indrajit Saroj, is up against BJP’s Vinod Sonkar, who has held the seat since 2014.
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00:00Hi, this is Zaina Azhar Syeda from Outlook India.
00:08I've traveled to Kaushambi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where Samajwadi Party's Pushpendra
00:14Saroj is contesting for the first time.
00:17The 25-year-old young Dalit leader is emerging as a new face in the Dalit community, and
00:23if he wins this Lok Sabha election, he will be the youngest MP in India.
00:28This is your first Lok Sabha election, so how confident are you at the moment?
00:35First of all, I would like to thank you.
00:37If I talk about confidence, then the way we are getting the support of the people,
00:41the blessings of all the people, and the co-operation of all the people,
00:46so the way we are fighting the elections with strength, with the people,
00:50so the confidence is good, there is enthusiasm among the people, and we are moving towards change.
00:56What are the issues of the elections here?
00:58Look, if I talk about Kaushambi, first of all, if I talk about the country as a whole,
01:03then unemployment and inflation is a big issue.
01:05It affects the people.
01:07And if I talk about Kaushambi, then there is a separate fight going on in Kaushambi,
01:11the fight for respect and honour.
01:13The way the current MPs have insulted the people,
01:19the fight for that is going on, the fight for respect and honour is going on,
01:23along with that, the personal issues that people are facing,
01:25they are not being listened to, they have not been able to do any work.
01:28Even now, the electricity, water, and roads are not working,
01:32their condition is bad.
01:34And the youth who are roaming around with unemployment,
01:37and the inflation that is affecting the people,
01:39such other issues are in Kaushambi.
01:44BJP's slogan is 400 times, would you like to say something about that?
01:50Look, the slogan that they gave earlier, 400 times,
01:53they glorified it a lot.
01:55They said it loudly, with a full heart,
02:00but then their slogan faded, it was over.
02:03Now, if you look at their speeches,
02:05they don't use the 400 times slogan anywhere.
02:07As the steps are moving forward,
02:10their slogans and issues are disappearing.
02:13And the mentality of the BJP,
02:18to divide the people, to do anything,
02:20this is being said in their speeches.
02:22So, this time, the 400 times slogan,
02:24it feels like it has become very old.
02:26And now the people have understood,
02:28that this is all a slogan,
02:30that was their promise,
02:32and now these slogans have become their slogans.
02:34So, the people have understood,
02:36the people are moving towards change.
02:38Okay, tell us a little about yourself.
02:40If you win, will you become the youngest MP?
02:42Look, it is natural,
02:44I am 25 years and 2 months old.
02:47And, it might be the first time in history,
02:49that someone will become the youngest MP,
02:51if I win, you know, from Kashmir.
02:53And, my education,
02:55was till 12th,
02:57in Welland Boys School, Dehradun.
02:59And, after that,
03:01in my under-graduation,
03:03in accounting and management,
03:05I went to Queen Mary University of London.
03:07So, you always knew,
03:09that you will come in politics?
03:11Look, I had to come sometime,
03:13I won't say so soon.
03:15But, I had to come early,
03:17it's okay, I came early.
03:19I came early among my people.
03:21I will get more time to work for people,
03:23I will get more time to roam with people.
03:25And, if I get experience soon,
03:27then nothing is better than that.
03:29Your father, Indrajeet Saroj Guwati,
03:31is a well-known name here.
03:33So, is there any pressure on you?
03:35Look, there is no pressure.
03:37There is no pressure,
03:39because he has worked.
03:41And, we are not voting on his name,
03:43and, when we are going among people,
03:45then people are accepting us
03:47like a new face.
03:49They want someone to keep their words
03:51in the parliament.
03:53They want someone to respect them.
03:55Someone to think with a new vision for them.
03:57In the same way,
03:59we are moving forward.
04:01And, not by pressure,
04:03but by getting their work done,
04:05and by respecting everyone,
04:07we are moving forward.
04:09How is your connection with Kaushambi?
04:11Look, my connection with Kaushambi
04:13is very old.
04:15Because, my father
04:17has been in politics for more than 30 years.
04:19He was born there,
04:21he grew up there,
04:23and he worked to make Kaushambi.
04:25The people believe this,
04:27the people know this.
04:29So, my connection with Kaushambi is very old.
04:31Kaushambi's public service is in our family.
04:33And, what he has done for Kaushambi,
04:35people call him Kaushambi's
04:37development man.
04:39So, in order to move forward,
04:41after 10 years,
04:43I had to come in the middle.
04:45I had to do it.
04:47With the support of the people,
04:49I am moving forward with their blessings.
04:51The support that Indrajeet Saroj
04:53received,
04:55do you feel that you are
04:57also getting the same support?
04:59Look, we had an inaugural meeting.
05:01And, in the inaugural meeting,
05:03people waited for 4 hours.
05:05When we came out after the inaugural meeting,
05:07they were still standing in the crowd.
05:09The whole crowd walked with us
05:11to our inaugural meeting.
05:13And, there, my father also said that
05:15I am getting more support
05:17than what he got.
05:19So,
05:21we are getting the respect of the society,
05:23and the blessings of the society.
05:25And, by uniting the society,
05:27this time, we are getting the support
05:29of all the people.
05:31I can say with confidence that
05:33there is no comparison.
05:35But, yes,
05:37there is a huge crowd walking with us.
05:39Would you like to say anything else?
05:41Look, my appeal to the people is that
05:43vote for your betterment.
05:45Vote for your personal issues.
05:47There should be a new politics in this country
05:49which should be about issues,
05:51respect, and development.
05:53And,
05:55we should leave that old system
05:57and vote for a society,
05:59caste, and religion.
06:01If we want to move India forward,
06:03then it should be about the society,
06:05and the respect of the society.