AAP MP Raghav Chadha Advocates for Lowering Election Age to 21
In a compelling address to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, AAP MP Raghav Chadha made a strong case for reducing the minimum age for contesting elections from 25 to 21. Emphasizing that India, with an average age of 29 years, is one of the youngest countries globally, Chadha argued that its representation should reflect this demographic reality. “We are a young country with old politicians; we must aspire to be a young country with young politicians,” he stated.
During his speech, Chadha highlighted that while 65% of India’s population is under 35 and over 50% is under 25, the proportion of young politicians in the Lok Sabha has declined. He noted that in the first Lok Sabha, 26% of members were under 40, whereas the recently dissolved 17th Lok Sabha had only 12% in that age group. This, he suggested, is partly due to politics being seen as a “bad profession” compared to others like medicine, engineering, and sports.
Chadha called for incentivizing youth participation in politics by lowering the candidacy age. He questioned why individuals, who can vote at 18 and influence the country’s future, are not allowed to contest elections until they are 25. “We have to incentivize the youth to join mainstream politics,” he urged, proposing a reduction in the minimum age to 21 to better align political representation with the nation’s youthful demographic.
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