Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has called for lowering the minimum age for contesting Assembly and Lok Sabha elections from 25 years to 21 years, arguing that the current threshold shuts out a generation already trusted with civil service and civic leadership roles. The demand, made in Hyderabad on 26 July, is backed by a plan to pass a state legislature resolution in the first week of August and forward it to the Centre.

What Revanth Reddy Is Demanding

The Chief Minister has called for a statutory amendment that would allow candidates aged 21 and above to contest elections to the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha, while raising the Rajya Sabha threshold to 25 years — up from the current 30 years. He argued that the existing age structure is inconsistent with other democratic responsibilities already assigned to young Indians.

'At the age of 21, we are appointing people as IAS, IPS, and other civil servants, making them mayors and district panchayat chairpersons. Then why not Assembly and Lok Sabha?' Revanth Reddy said.

The International and Constitutional Context

Revanth Reddy pointed to global precedents to bolster his case. He noted that in more than 50% of countries — citing Germany, Great Britain, and Singapore among others — the minimum age for legislative candidacy is 21 years. He also invoked the legacy of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years through the 61st Constitutional Amendment, arguing that a parallel reduction in the contestation age is now overdue.

'Earlier, our voting age was 21 years and the minimum age to contest Assembly elections and Lok Sabha was 25 years, and everything was functioning properly. But when the voting age was reduced to 18 years, now it is time to reduce the age limit for contesting elections as well,' he said.

The Gen Z Argument

Central to Revanth Reddy's pitch is demography. He noted that approximately 30% of India's population belongs to Generation Z, and argued that this cohort deserves a direct legislative voice rather than representation mediated through older politicians. 'They should get opportunities to serve as MLAs, MPs, state ministers, and central ministers,' he said.

State Session and Centre Demand

A special session of the Telangana Legislative Council and Assembly is to be convened in the first week of August to pass a formal resolution on the age-limit reduction, which will then be transmitted to the Union government. Revanth Reddy separately pressed the Centre for parity in infrastructure investment, demanding that Telangana receive the same developmental attention as Gujarat, citing pending decisions on projects including the Regional Ring Road, Metro Rail, Musi River development, Adilabad Airport, and a bullet train alignment. He also expressed ambition for Telangana to contribute 10% of India's economy as part of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision and a projected $30 trillion national economy.

Whether the Centre acts on the resolution remains to be seen, but the move signals a deliberate push by the Indian National Congress-led Telangana government to position youth representation as a national electoral reform priority ahead of future legislative cycles.