According to the Constitution of India, what is the minimum age required for a candidate to contest an election to the Lok Sabha (the House of the People)?

Introduction / Context:
The Constitution of India lays down specific minimum age limits for contesting different types of elections. These age requirements help ensure that elected representatives have a basic level of maturity and experience. For the Lok Sabha, which is the directly elected House of the People, the age requirement is a very common examination question in polity and general knowledge, and it is important not to confuse it with the voting age or with the age required for membership in other bodies.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question is specifically about contesting elections to the Lok Sabha.
• It is not about the minimum voting age.
• The options include ages commonly associated with various political offices in India.

Concept / Approach:
Article 84 of the Constitution of India sets out the qualifications for membership of Parliament. Among these qualifications, it clearly specifies that a person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Lok Sabha if he or she is less than 25 years of age. By contrast, the minimum age to be a member of the Rajya Sabha is 30 years. The voting age, which is the age to be registered as a voter, is 18 years after the constitutional amendment. Therefore we must distinguish between voting and contesting elections, and between the two houses of Parliament.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that 18 years is the minimum age for voting in India, not for contesting Lok Sabha elections.Step 2: Recall that 30 years is the minimum age for becoming a member of the Rajya Sabha.Step 3: Identify that Article 84 describes 25 years as the minimum age to be elected to the Lok Sabha.Step 4: Compare the given options and match 25 years with this constitutional requirement.Step 5: Select 25 years as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
A simple verification method is to memorise a short table: 18 years to vote, 25 years to contest in state legislative assemblies and Lok Sabha, and 30 years to contest for the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils. This pattern is commonly presented in standard polity textbooks. When you place the Lok Sabha into that table, it clearly falls into the 25 year category, confirming that 25 years is the minimum age to contest.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
18 years is the voting age, not the age to stand as a candidate for the Lok Sabha. 21 years is the age used for some local body elections in various states, but not for membership of the Lok Sabha. 26 years has no specific constitutional significance for membership of Parliament. 30 years is associated with the Rajya Sabha and some other institutions, but the question is clearly about the Lok Sabha, so this option is also incorrect.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often confuse the right to vote with the right to stand for election and may incorrectly choose 18 years. Others swap the age limits for the two houses of Parliament and mix up 25 and 30 years. To avoid these mistakes, it is helpful to group the data logically and revise it regularly: 18 for voting, 25 for lower houses and most assemblies, and 30 for upper houses.

Final Answer:
25 years