GUWAHATI: Milon Das, a 30-year-old research scholar from Assam University, is the youngest candidate to get a ticket to fight the election this time.
Milon, who is pursuing PhD on climate change from the department of ecology and environmental Science in the university, has been nominated by BJP as a candidate for the elections from Hailakandi constituency. Milon, who joined BJP in October last year, believes that electoral politics is the best platform to serve society. “When I was very much active in student politics, I saw that joining the electoral politics is the best way to serve the people as it gives a larger platform to a person. That is the reason I decided to join politics,” he said.
Milon is the president of the research scholars’ forum of the university since 2019. He also served as the president of the students’ union of the university in 2017-18 session.
On a question about his decision to join BJP when there are several political parties, he said, “I became attracted to BJP due to the dynamic leadership quality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is he who has motivated me to join the electoral politics and particularly BJP.”
He added that after making a comparison of the political parties, he found it is BJP which gives scope to young blood to come forward. “And I thought it would be better to be a part of this most organized and progressive party because it is the party which will help me to meet my hunger for working for the people,” he said.
Talking about the main fight, he said All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Zakir Hussain Laskar, who got the ticket as a candidate of the grand alliance spearheaded by the Congress, is not a threat to him. But, Milon said, Hilal Uddin Choudhury, who is fighting as independent candidate after being denied ticket by the Congress, would be the main rival for him in the election. “He has a wide support in the constituency. So, the fight will be between me and him,” he added.
Talking about why people would elect him, he told TOI that people of the constituency are already convinced that a well-qualified leader should be elected to the assembly for the betterment of the constituency. “I have been working in my constituency as a party worker since my joining to the party and finally when time came, I applied for a ticket and I was given the ticket. There was nothing like … I got the ticket because I was close to somebody else… no. I got the ticket on a very normal process. My activeness in the constituency and the activities I have been engaged in helped me in getting the ticket,” Milon said. He added that people will give mandate to him in the constituency on the basis of the performance of the BJP-led coalition government in the state.
“I’ll fight the election on the issues of development,” Milon said. “I have been continuously meeting people in different parts of the constituency and informing them that what the BJP government has done for the welfare of the people in its rule at the Centre as well as in the state. Party’s achievement and activities for the all-round development will help BJP in forming government for second time,” he added.