31 October,2019 04:57 PM IST | Mumbai | A correspondent
Aaditya Thackeray outside the Western Sports Complex, Mahalaxmi on Thursday. Pic/Bipin Kokate
The average age of 36 MLAs in the Mumbai is 53. While Zeeshan Siddiqui who won the Bandra east seat, is the youngest MLA at 27 in the current assembly, there are 10 MLAs above 60.
While India is considered one of the youngest nations with 78 per cent of the population below age 44, the average age of representatives in the assembly and the Lok Sabha is on the higher side. The minimum age to contest the MLA elections is 25. There is no maximum age to contest an election in India, but there is a demand to have an age limit for elected representatives to do better work.
According to information filed in affidavits by candidates before the election, the maximum number of MLAs are in the age group 50 to 70 years. Out of the 36, MLAs representing 26 constituencies are above the age of 50.
Ravindra Waikar, Prakash Phatarphekar and Nawab Malik are 60, while Abu Azmi and Sanjay Potnis are 64. Tamil Selvan is 61, while Mangalprabhat Lodha is 63. Sada Sarwankar, 65, Vinayak Chowdhary, 66, and Kalidas Kolambkar, 67, are older, with Kolambkar becoming the oldest MLA in the current assembly after winning the Wadala seat for the eighth time.
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There are eight MLAs in the age group 40 to 50, including Varsha Gaikwad from Dharavi, Amit Satam from Andheri west, Rahul Narvekar from Colaba and Mangesh Kudalkar from Kurla.
Aaditya Thackeray is 29. So the tag of the youngest MLA in Mumbai was bagged by Zeeshan, son of former state minister Baba Siddiqui, who defeated Shiv Sena candidate and mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar in Bandra east.
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