You think that Ashwin Madia is on the young side in running for Congress at the age of 29? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Meet Ytit Chauhan, a 19-year-old Indian-American running for city council in Atlantic City, N.J.:

Picture shamelessly cradle-robbed from his Facebook profile

The first round of campaign finance forms shows that this year’s City Council candidates may spend tens of thousands of dollars to land a seat on the resort’s governing body. While files are incomplete, the candidates raised a cumulative $103,141, while spending $77,578 for the Nov. 6 contest.

Leading the pack is Steve Layman, a Republican running independently who is challenging Councilman Tim Mancuso, a Democrat.

Unendorsed Democrat Ytit Chauhan is also running in that race, but he signed forms indicated he planned to spend no more than $3,500. [Link]

Chauhan has even caught the attention of David Letterman and his company WorldWide Pants. Variety reports:

David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production banner is spearheading an untitled feature documentary about young adults running for public office. The doc will follow five men and women ages 18-20 who are seeking elected posts in a range of states, including New Jersey and Tennessee.

The film is the first docu and the first noncomedy project for Worldwide Pants. Doc will be directed by Michael Moore’s former assistant Jason Pollock, and “An Inconvenient Truth” producer Lawrence Bender is attached to produce.

The candidates include Ytit Chauhan, 18, a first-generation Indian-American running for city council in Atlantic City, N.J.; and George Monger, 18, who successfully appealed to lower the Memphis voting age from 23 so that he could run for city council. [Link]

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Chauhan on the blog The Atlantic City Scoop:

(Jesse Kurtz) Mr. Chauhan, thank you for agreeing to appear on The Atlantic City Scoop. Why are you running for Sixth Ward Councilman?

(Ytit Chauhan) I have always had a deep passion and appreciation for public service. Even though Atlantic City elected officials have disgraced and misused the public trust time and time again, I would hope that average people still have the ability to respect the few honest and sincere individuals out there who pursue elected office as a means to better their community. I love Atlantic City, and I can no longer be an innocent and inconsequential bystander and watch this city deteriorate politically and culturally. The people are yearning for change, and I entered this race because I believe I am the only candidate in this city who can unite the many political factions in order for the greater good for the city at large. Petty bickering and opportunistic decision making has left this city with many mediocre politicians. The voters on November 6th will reject all the non-sense, and elect common sense. [Link]

A local newspaper’s crack investigative team is already reporting on rumors of impropriety by the Chauhan campaign:

Ytit Chauhan wants a seat on Atlantic City’s City Council.

But if you ask Wikipedia, it’s already his.

On Friday afternoon, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit lists the 19-year-old as the 6th Ward councilman. Tim Mancuso, who has represented the neighborhood since Chauhan was 4, was nowhere to be found.

Turns out a high school buddy had some fun with Ytit and Tim.

Wikipedia’s logs show someone at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., “elected” Chauhan at 7:03 p.m. Sept. 18.

Chauhan has only one friend who goes to school there, according to the social networking Web site Facebook: 19-year-old Alex Rovins, a high-school classmate, now a dean’s-list sophomore.

Chauhan professed no hand in the now month-long scheme. He swore Rovins only told him about it last week.

In any event, Chauhan wants Rovins to fix it: “I told him to get rid of it before Tim Mancuso Googles me and starts coming over to my house and knocking on my door at 3 a.m…” [Link]

This might be the most exciting race outside of Stephen Colbert’s.