Future India needs younger MLAs, MPs

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy's suggestion to lower the age for contesting state elections to 21 from the current 25 can help make India's legislatures more attuned to India's demographic reality. 20-24-yr-olds account for about 150 mn, or 10% of the population. An 18-yr-old can vote but she or he will have to wait for another 7 years to contest as a candidate. This gap in needless.

While India's median age is 28, the average age of MLAs is 52-57 - in 55-yr-old Reddy's Telangana, it's 56. Of the 119 MLAs of that state, only 6% are between 25 and 40 years, the 55-plus making for 60% of the chamber. The 18th Lok Sabha, too, has preponderance of MPs above the age of 55, with only 3 being 25   when elected in 2024. Lowering the qualifying age, even by 4     years to 21, can potentially change the composition of the chamber. But, more importantly, it gives out a signal that can bring a fresh whiff of energy into our politics, moving away from the overtly cynical to prioritising issues relevant to a larger and younger country. It could also push legislative discussion to consider issues that impact over a longer time span such as environment, since younger representatives will be more aware of having 'skin in the game'.

Lowering the age for contesting elections requires amending the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act. The good news is that there is a modicum of consensus in Parliament on the benefits of lowering the qualifying age for candidates. In the 17th Lok Sabha, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice actually recommended in its 132nd report lowering the minimum age for contesting elections to 18. For a viksit India by 2047, younger MLAs and MPs will be carrying less baggage.