House panel proposes reducing minimum age to contest polls

Indian Political System Union - Executive, Legisture

Context: Recently, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended reducing the age for contesting Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to 18 years.

At present, the minimum age for a person to contest various elections is as follows:
President and Vice President of India: Article 58 of the Constitution for President Of India and Article 66 for the Vice President Of India says no person shall be eligible for election unless he is a citizen of India and has completed the age of 35 Years.
Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly polls: Article 84 of Constitution of India provides that the minimum age for becoming a candidate for Lok Sabha election shall be 25 years. Similar provision exists for a candidate to the Legislative Assemblies vide Article 173 (b).
Rajya Sabha or the State Legislative Council: Article 84 of Constitution of India provides that the minimum age for becoming a candidate for Lok Sabha election shall be 30 years. Similar provision exists for a candidate to the Legislative Councils vide Article 173 (b).
Member of Panchayats and Municipality: Article 243 provides that the minimum age to contest elections is 21 years.

The Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievance, Law and Justice held that young individuals can be “reliable and responsible” political participants.
Since 18 is the minimum voting age in India, the same age limit should be applied to contesting elections.
Global practices: In countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, the minimum age for candidacy in national elections is 18 years.
The Standing Committee also said that the viewpoint for reducing the age was reinforced by a vast amount of evidence, such as, the increasing political consciousness among young people, and the advantages of youth representation.

The Election Commission of India said it was “unrealistic” to expect 18-year-olds to possess the necessary “experience and maturity” for being Members of Parliament and State legislative bodies.

Considering the huge demographic dividend that India has with the largest population of youth in the world, India needs to change its electoral policies with the changing time.
However, a thorough study needs to be conducted before reaching any conclusion on reducing the age for contesting elections in India.