Bhubaneswar: Chandrani Murmu, who recently won the Keonjhar Lok Sabha seat on BJD ticket, has become the youngest ever Lok Sabha member in the country.
The 25-year-old emerged victorious after defeating two-time BJP MP Ananta Nayak by an impressive margin of 66,203 votes. Murmu will be the youngest ever member of the Lower House after taking oath as an MP next week.
Earlier, Dushyant Chautala from Hisar Constituency in Haryana and grandson of politician Om Prakash Chautala was known to be the youngest member of the 16th Lok Sabha. He was 26 years old while assuming office.
An alumna of SOA University in Bhubaneswar, Murmu hails from Tikargumura village in Keonjhar district. She won the Keonjhar Lok Sabha seat with 5,26,359 votes.
Murmu’s maternal grandfather, the late Harihar Soren, was elected to Parliament on a Congress ticket in 1980 and 1984. She was applying for government jobs when she approached by BJD through her maternal uncle Harmohan Soren and asked if she would like to contest the 2019 polls.
The BJD, which had given tickets to seven women this time, was looking for an educated woman candidate for Keonjhar, a reserved tribal constituency, and Murmu decided to take the plunge. “Initially, I was nervous. My main concern was whether people would have faith in me. However, now after getting the love of people and experiencing the love they have for sankha (BJD symbol conch), I am more confident of winning.”
“It is difficult to believe that I have been elected as youngest MP in India. With success, I have been bestowed with a huge responsibility. I will work hard for the people who have shown faith in me,” said Murmu after her ecstatic win.
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