AAP MP Raghav Chadha wants Govt to reduce minimum age for fighting elections to 21 years. Here is why

Aam Aadmi Party Member of Parliament (MP) Raghav Chadha has demanded that the minimum age for contesting elections in India be reduced from the current 25 to 21 years. This, Chadha said, will help increase youth participation in Indian politics.

“India is one of the youngest countries in the world. 65 per cent of our population is less than 35 years old and 50 per cent of our population is less than 25 years old,” Chadha said, speaking in Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament on August 1.

When the first Lok Sabha was elected after Independence, Chadha said, 26 per cent of members were less than 40 years old. “In the 17th Lok Sabha (the last Lok Sabha), only 12 per cent of members were less than 40 years old…. We are a young country with old politicians, we must aspire to become a young country with young politicians,” Chadha said.

At present, the minimum age for a person to contest Lok Sabha and Assembly polls is 25 years, while one can become a member of the Rajya Sabha or the State Legislative Council only at 30 years of age.

This is happening, Chadha said, because politics is still considered a bad profession in India. “ When a kid grows up, parents say to be a doctor, engineer, scientist, sportsperson, and chartered accountant. Nobody wants his kids to become leaders and join politics. I think we need to incentivise youth to attract them to join mainstream politics in India,” Chadha said.

"I have a suggestion for the government of India: the minimum age for contesting elections should be reduced from 25 to 21 years," he said.

Chadha is not the first to raise the demand of reducing the minimum age of contesting elections in India. Last year, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended reducing the age for contesting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to 18 years – the minimum age for voting in India.

This view was, however, contested by the Election Commission of India which said that it was unrealistic to expect 18-year-olds to possess the necessary experience and maturity for being Members of Parliament and State legislative bodies.