Let the earlier position of Raju from the left end be x.
Total number of boys in the row = 35
After shifting 5 places to the left, Raju's new position from the left end becomes:
New position from left = x−5
After the shift, Raju is 17th from the right end.
The relationship between position from left and position from right:
Position from left + Position from right = Total number + 1
x−5+17=35+1
x−5+17=36
x+12=36
x=24
Therefore, Raju's earlier position from the left end was 24.
The correct answer is Option 4.