Discuss the constitutional provisions governing the minimum age for candidature to Parliament and State Legislatures. Critically examine the case for lowering this age to enhance youth political participation.

India lets a citizen vote at 18 but contest only at 25 — a gap revived by Telangana's proposed Assembly resolution seeking a candidature age of 21 [5]. The demand is constitutionally sound in principle, but its gains depend on party practice, not the age bar alone.

Constitutional framework

• Article 84(b): for Parliament, minimum 30 years for the Rajya Sabha and 25 years for the Lok Sabha; Article 84(a) adds citizenship and oath, 84(c) permits Parliament to prescribe further qualifications [1].
• Article 173(b): mirrors this for States — 25 years for the Legislative Assembly, 30 years for the Legislative Council [2].
• Voting age was cut from 21 to 18 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988, amending Article 326, precisely to widen youth participation [4]; candidature age was left untouched.
• Any reduction therefore needs a constitutional amendment under Article 368; a State resolution can only request the Centre to act [5].

Case for lowering

• Representation deficit: only 11% of 18th Lok Sabha MPs are 40 or younger and the average age is 56 [3] — a young electorate led by an ageing legislature.
• Consistency: a 21-year-old may enter the civil services and contest panchayat polls, so the legislative bar looks arbitrary [5].
• Channelling youth energy from street and online mobilisation into institutional politics.

Concerns

• Age reform alone cannot overcome ticket distribution controlled by parties, election finance, and dynastic entry — the real filters.
• Legislative work demands administrative exposure; three 25-year-olds already sit in the Lok Sabha [3], showing the bar is not the binding constraint.
• Risks becoming symbolic if unaccompanied by inner-party democracy.

Lowering the age to 21 would align candidature with the franchise logic of 1988 and is defensible, but it must be paired with party-level reform and campaign-finance transparency. Examined by a parliamentary committee, such an amendment can convert India's demographic dividend into genuine democratic depth.