Meet Pushpendra Saroj, India’s youngest MP: ‘I use my father’s work, not name’

On the list of politicians the 25-year-old SP MP admires are Nikhil Gadkari, for being “work-oriented”, and Rahul Gandhi, who he says is "kindhearted".

Pushpendra Saroj, youngest MP, of the Samajwadi Party. (Express photo)

The youngest MP in Parliament, Pushpendra Saroj decided to enter electoral politics almost at the eleventh hour. “I decided to enter electoral politics just three months before the Lok Sabha elections,” says the 25-year-old. “My decision was based on the condition of the country in the last 10 years during which it has been divided. I felt a new thinking and vision must be brought to the state’s politics.”

For Pushpendra, who turned 25 on March 1, humility is the most important characteristic of a public servant. “If a leader is humble, people will choose them,” he says. The Samajwadi Party (SP) MP won the election from the Kaushambi (SC-reserved) constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh, defeating two-time BJP MP Vinod Sonkar who, at 53 years, is more than twice his age.

The Kaushambi MP is the son of former BSP leader Indrajit Saroj, a four-time MLA and former state Cabinet minister who served in the Mayawati government.

Pushpendra stood out in his first appearance in the House when he read his oath without frills or sloganeering even his party colleagues and MPs from other parties used the stage to raise slogans. He explains that everyone has the right to take the oath in their own way. “Every platform has its dignity. The oath is given to us and I believe it should be read based on the text. Hence, I did not raise any slogan and stuck to the text before me,” Pushpendra tells The Indian Express.

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The Kaushambi MP is the son of former BSP leader Indrajit Saroj, a four-time MLA and former state Cabinet minister who served in the Mayawati government. After being with the BSP since the 1980s, Saroj quit the party in 2018 and joined the SP. He is now the SP MLA from Manjhanpur in Kaushambi district and the party’s national general secretary.

Pushpendra, who loves playing cricket, hockey, football, and squash, completed his schooling from the Welham Boys’ School in Dehradun in 2016 and earned his Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from the Queen Mary University in London in 2019. In 2022, Pushpendra helped his father with his election campaign for the Assembly polls. (Express photo)

The BJP has targeted Pushpendra and the SP over “parivarvaad (dynasty politics”, to which he says, “I take their criticism on the chin. I use my father’s work and not his name. The work he has done over the years has stayed with the people. That aside, it is the people who decide whether they want me or not and if my constituency has chosen me, then I have their support and that is all that matters … I feel the youth of this country will connect better with someone like me, who is of their age.”

Asked about his preparations for the Budget Session, which began on Monday, the MP says, “I am preparing by reading up. I have narrowed down on issues I would like to highlight in Parliament. But first, the Budget has to come … In my debut speech, I will focus on unemployment, inflation and paper leaks, all youth-centric issues.”

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Pushpendra says he contributed some points to party national president Akhilesh Yadav’s speech in the 18th Lok Sabha. Whether he is a good representative or not, will be decided over the next five years, he says.

“The people will decide. I know the people of my constituency wanted someone who would listen to them and I will make sure that happens. I will raise their issues in the next five years. The main issue in my constituency was that the sitting MP didn’t listen to the people,” says Pushpendra.

Asked about his favourite leader apart from Akhilesh, Pushpendra says Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is “work-oriented”, a quality he likes in a leader. “I like Rahul Gandhi ji too. I think the way he connects with people is exemplary. And also, he is very kindhearted, it is evident. Everyone saw it during his yatras,” he says.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More