Chandigarh, Sep 22 - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is contesting on its own all the 90 seats in the Haryana assembly elections next month, is banking on youth energy by fielding many young candidates.

'The average age of the BJP candidates contesting in the Haryana assembly elections is 45 years. This time we have fielded youngsters on most of the seats in the state, as we believe that they can play a prominent role in the country's overall progress,' Vijay Goel, the BJP leader in-charge of the party affairs in Haryana, told reporters here Tuesday.

He refuted the allegation that BJP was following in the footsteps of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi by laying stress on youth power. 'We do not know about any other party, but the BJP is adopting this trend in every state.'

'We want youngsters to serve for another 20 years in the party, so we are catching them young. If they win today, it's good. Otherwise, they get prepared for the future,' Goel added.

The BJP snapped its alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana Aug 24 because of mounting differences over sharing of seats between the two parties.

This was the second time the INLD and BJP have parted ways in Haryana. They together contested the April-May Lok Sabha elections, but could not win a single seat.

Targeting the ruling Congress government in Haryana, Goel said: 'The Congress is exploiting the state and using pubic money for their personal interest.