The presence of youth represents energy, fresh ideas, and idealism, all of which our politics could do with. Indian politics has been dominated by aged men and women refusing to hand over power to the next generation. It was hoped that these young MPs would succeed in brushing away a few cobwebs.

We decided to check how these freshly elected young members of Parliament were faring. More than halfway into their terms, their report card is sadly far from glowing. Thirteen of the 28 have not debated a bill in Parliament, four are yet to make a maiden speech.

Parties across the spectrum used their youthful appeal to win votes, but are now unwilling to cede any real responsibility to them. Neither are the young MPs as assertive in a group as some of their predecessors were. Eight of the 10 young Congress MPs and three of the BJP's five are beneficiaries of dynasty. This means that almost half of the 14th Lok Sabha's youngest members belong to the nation's political elite. They have been pitchforked into national politics without any training in grassroots politics. They have traded on their family name. How else would you explain that young parliamentarians' visits to villages have been repeatedly put off while they have been present on at least six overseas delegations?

Our cover story this week, put together by Assistant Editor Priya Sahgal looks beyond the promise of India's young MPs. We sent nearly a dozen reporters to each of their 28 constituencies to see if they had delivered on their promises.

It is not our intention to discourage the young from joining politics but to motivate them to make a difference. The country's demographics cries out for the aspirations of the young to be recognised. In that sense, there is a leadership vacuum in Indian politics today and it is for our future leaders to fulfil their promise. There is still time. After all, they have age on their side.

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