General elections 2014: Aam Aadmi Party all set to promise lower age for contesting polls

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) is all set to make a tall promise to the country’s electorate ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. If voted to power, the fledgling party claims it will pitch a drastic reduction in the minimum age for contesting state and central elections, from 25 years to 21 years.

The party's top decisionmaking body, the political affairs committee, has almost finalised the fine print of the manifesto and this promise is part of that document, which will be unveiled soon. Any change in the minimum age for contesting elections would require a constitutional amendment, which can only be effected by a twothirds majority. The age provision for Lok Sabha elections is enshrined in Article 84 (b) of the Constitution and a similar provision exists for state assemblies in Article 173 (b) of the Constitution, which has to be read with Section 36 (2) of the Representation of People Act, 1950.

The party, however, feels that the youth is ready to take the political plunge much earlier and hence the proposal to lower the minimum age for contesting elections.

“The AAP is a movement propelled by youngsters. We have fielded some of the youngest candidates for Lok Sabha elections. In fact, we had some really good applicants much younger than those who appeared in the final list, but they couldn’t make the cut because of the minimum age provision,” said a senior party leader, who did not wish to be identified.