PM Modi urges first-time voters to register at 18, calls it a major democratic milestone
In his Mann Ki Baat address on January 25, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked eligible young Indians to register as voters as soon as they turn 18, linking National Voters’ Day and the Republic Day week to constitutional values and civic duty.
What the Prime Minister said
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the 130th episode of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on Sunday, January 25, 2026, to push a simple message ahead of Republic Day: if you are eligible, get enrolled as a voter. He described the act of becoming a voter at 18 not as an ordinary administrative step, but as a major life milestone in a democracy.
Modi tied the appeal to January 25 being observed as National Voters’ Day, calling the voter the “soul of democracy” and framing participation in elections as part of a citizen’s constitutional responsibility. With January 26 marking the day the Constitution came into force, he positioned voter enrolment and voting as practical ways for young citizens to uphold constitutional values.
Why this matters now
The pitch targets first-time voters and those about to turn 18, a group that can be hard to mobilise amid exams, relocations, and the shift from school to college or work. Voter enrolment, Modi suggested, should be celebrated as a step into citizenship, rather than treated as a routine form-filling exercise.
The wider subtext was civic participation in a fast-changing India—where youth influence culture, jobs and technology, and where the legitimacy of public institutions depends on voter turnout. By framing registration as an immediate action (not something to postpone), the message sought to convert intention into a measurable democratic outcome: more names on electoral rolls.