The voting age for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies was reduced from 21 years to 18 years by the:

The 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, brought into force in March 1989, reduced the voting age for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies from 21 years to 18 years.

What the amendment changed:

• It amended Article 326 of the Constitution, which provides for elections on the basis of adult suffrage.
• Earlier, only citizens aged 21 or above could vote; after the amendment, all citizens aged 18 or above (and not otherwise disqualified) became eligible to vote.

Why the voting age was reduced:

• Young people aged 18 to 21 were considered mature enough to take part in the political process.
• They were already treated as adults for many other purposes.
• Many other democracies, such as the UK and the USA, had already reduced the voting age to 18.
• The government of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi wanted to involve the youth in nation-building.

Effect:

• About five crore young people became eligible to vote in the general elections of 1989.
• It made India's electorate even larger, and gave the youth a greater voice in elections.

Universal adult franchise:

• The Constitution gave the right to vote to all adult citizens, without any qualifications of property, education, religion, caste or sex, from the very beginning.
• The first general elections (1951-52) were held on this basis.

National Voters' Day:

It is observed on 25 January every year, the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, to encourage young people to register as voters.

Age requirements for other offices:

• To contest elections to the Lok Sabha or a state assembly, a person must be at least 25 years old.
• To be a member of the Rajya Sabha or a state legislative council, a person must be at least 30 years old.
• To be President or Vice-President, a person must be at least 35 years old.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The 42nd, 44th and 62nd Amendments dealt with other matters.