TN’s assembly set to be youngest in two decades

Chennai: Tamil Nadu is set to witness its youngest Assembly in nearly two decades, with the median age of MLAs dropping from 56 in 2021 to 51 now, driven largely by younger crop of legislators from TVK.Of the party's 107 MLAs, the median age stands at 47, much lower than DMK's 57 and AIADMK's 59. Unlike Dravidian parties, which largely relied on experienced district-level leaders and sitting legislators, TVK fielded several first-time candidates drawn from Vijay Makkal Iyakkam and younger organisers.The shift mirrors change in the state's voter profile. Voters below 40 now account for nearly half of Tamil Nadu's 5.7-crore electorate.The number of MLAs in the 25-30 age group has risen to seven, compared to just one each in the 14th and 15th Assemblies. TVK's S Kamali (28) in Avinashi who defeated union minister L Murugan is the youngest MLA. There are 42 MLAs in the age group of 31 to 40 years. Political observers say the emergence of younger legislators could change the nature of debates inside the Assembly, particularly on employment, urban infrastructure, and digital governance that increasingly affect younger voters.Political analyst R Chandrasekaran said the shift could improve the quality of legislative discussions if younger MLAs move beyond symbolic politics. "A younger Assembly usually means greater familiarity with technology, data and administrative systems. TVK's manifesto itself promises measures such as an AI-powered dashboard to monitor public grievances and reduce delays and corruption in governmentgovt offices. If such ideas translate into committee-level scrutiny and issue-based debates, legislative functioning could become more technical and policy-oriented," he said.Unlike last time, there are no MLAs above the age of 80 years. But the Assembly would have 19 MLAs in the 71-80 age bracket compared to 14 in 2021, the highest in recent decades. The increase comes as DMK and AIADMK continued to renominate senior leaders with established vote bases. TVK too fielded senior entrants such as KA Sengottaiyan and VS Babu after they switched sides ahead of the election.