Lok Sabha polls: Did you know 18 was not always the minimum age for voting in India?

The seat falls under the Kolhapur Lok Sabha constituency, which has 5 more seats- Chandgad, Radhanagari, Kolhapur South, Karvir and Kolhapur North.

The 6-week long Lok Sabha election will be held in 7 seven phases, beginning April 19. The Election Commission announced in March 2024 that there are 1.28 crore first-time voters who are eligible to cast their vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. These young adults are in the 18-19 age group. Any Indian citizen who is 18 years or above can exercise their franchise and participate in the electoral process. But, that was not always so.

The minimum voting age in India was lowered to 18 years only in 1988. The 61st Amendment Act of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution Act, 1988 lowered the voting age for Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies. However, in the 1951-52 Lok Sabha elections, the eligible voting age in India was 21 years.

How can one register to vote?

• Any Indian citizen who has attained the age of 18 as on January 1 of the year which electoral roll is prepared and wishes to cast vote needs to fill Form 6 (Application form for new voters).
• He/she must fill in the mandatory details including full name, date of birth, Aadhaar details, proof of residence and gender among others.
• The applicant must sign a declaration stating that he/she is an Indian citizen and is applying for inclusion in the electoral roll for the first time.
• Attaching a recent passport-size colour photograph in Form 6 is mandatory for the applicants.

• Voters need to present voter ID cards to the polling officer at the polling booths.
• They must sign or give thumb impression in the register of voters.
• On the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), voters need to press the candidate button on the Balloting Unit against the name and symbol of the candidate of their choice. Red lamp glows against the name and symbol of that candidate.
• Once the vote is recorded, there is a beep sound confirming the same. Voters get a slip confirming that the vote has been cast.

In order to urge first-time voters, the Election Commission has roped in Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurana. The 39-year-old actor features in the ECI's campaign video that encourages the youth to exercise their franchise in the upcoming elections.

"Every vote counts and every vote is important. Voting is a symbol of empowerment in a democratic nation like ours," the actor said.