Democratic congressional challenger Suraj Patel came out swinging in a debate for the primary to represent Manhattan’s Upper West and Upper East sides, saying it’s time to retire septuagenarian Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney.

The opening call for new blood from the 38-year-old came right after Nadler stumbled badly through his own opening statement.

“It’s 2022. It’s time to turn the page on 1992,” Patel, 38, said in a swipe at Nadler, 75, and Maloney, 76, during his opening statement in the debate co-sponsored by NY1 and WNYC.

Nadler’s delivery was halting during his opening presentation and he misspoke and often seemed unable to come up with the words he wanted to say.

And then Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, uttered a real whopper, proclaiming, “I’ve impeached Bush twice.”

He was referring to his oversight of the politically divisive impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

Nadler had many other verbal stumbles throughout the debate and at one point when the moderators offered him a chance to respond since his name had been brought up by an opponent, he seemed stunned and had nothing to say.

Maloney and Nadler each were elected and have served together in Congress for 30 years, first elected in the early 1990s.

Nadler was a former state assemblyman before his election to the House. Maloney chairs the House Oversight Committee and formerly served in the City Council. 

Patel, a self-described “Obama Democrat” and lawyer whose family runs a hotel business, is making his third run in the 12th congressional district.

The Democrats’ gerrymandering debacle ended up pitting Maloney and Nadler — longtime allies — against each other.

Judges knocked out the Democrat-drawn maps — which Republicans derided as the “Hochulmander” because Gov. Kathy Hochul approved them — finding them unconstitutional.

As a result, a court-ordered special master merged Maloney’s East Side turf with Nadler’s West Side base, and Nadler waste d no time, immediately declaring he’d run in Maloney’s district, guaranteeing at least one of the aged incumbents will be out of a job next year.

Nadler decided to run in the 12th CD against Maloney instead of the 10th District, which he currently represents, because the reconfigured 10th cut out his Upper West Side turf and took in communities in brownstone and southern Brooklyn, a swath of the city he has never represented.

The primary will be held on Aug. 23 with early voting beginning on August 13.