The Youth Congress in UP has decided to implement its age bar. And so, it has asked all those office-bearers who are aged above 35 to resign from their posts in order to give chance to the ‘real youth’. The move is in keeping with AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s decision to identify youth who can work for his 2012 mission for the state.

The four zonal heads of the state Youth Congress, who were personally selected by Rahul through a talent hunt process, have been asked to identify such office-bearers in their zones and convey them the message. In Lucknow zone, around 25 Youth Congress office-bearers above 35 years of age had been identified, sources said.

Pankaj Tiwari, president of the Lucknow zone, said, “The age bar for National Students’ Union of India is 27 years. After that, they are expected to become part of the Youth Congress. After 35, they are expected to join the Congress.”

Not everyone is happy with the move though. “We worked hard to strengthen the organisation even after the state body of the Youth Congress was dissolved two years ago. Now when the party is reviving itself in UP, we have been asked to leave,” said one worker.