ELECTORAL BEHAVIOUR

ELECTORAL BEHAVIOUR 

Introduction

1. study of electoral behavior is result of growth of Behavioral movement
2. Millan Vaishnav: challenging in India due to huge size and diversity
3. Kenneth Arrow: Impossibility theorem
1. difficult when voter have more than 3 choice, still India is very interesting
2. big puzzle why India vote despite getting nothing concrete in return
4. Mukulika Banerjee: 
1. conducted ethnographic survey of Indian voters
2. findings
1. act of voting assertion of citizenship right and duty
2. power inversion takes place during election
3. reject those who govern
4. some vote out of revenge
5. some vote for member of caste or family
6. some vote for EC
7. some feel edifice of democracy will collapse
3. poors are sophisticated and strategic voters
1. higher dependency on governance, welfare provision
2. middle class vote only as duty for nation
5. Lok Niti, part of CSDS(Centre for study of developing society)
1. following trend
2. caste and religion remain major factor
3. anti-incumbency doesn't matter
4. corruption doesn't matter
6. Yogendra Yadav
1. people in India are moving from identity politics to identity+politics

Assessment of Indian voters

1. Prannoy Roy, Ashok Lahiri, David Butler book- India Decides
1. voting behaviour in India is mature than western countries
2. Prof. MP Singh: credit for democracy in India goes to common sense of ordinary public

 

 

 

 

 

Daily News Section

1. Tribals

1. Chritophe Jeferellote,  A. Kalaiyarasan in IE: Margins of New India
1. STs conditions have been deteriorated in the rule of BJP in MP, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat
2. their per capita income is almost half of non-ST groups
3. the graduation level is around 2%
4. condition is better in south because the societies are more egalitarian
5. even then they vote for BJP
1. STs are not in majority in most of the constituencies reserved for them
2. Tariq Thachil: Elite Parties, Poor Voters, Sangh Parivar's social work-free health care services have made some impact
3. strategy of polarisation and hinduisation works among adivasis
4. the adivasis are not a block like the SCs 
1. they are divided into hundred of subgroups whose leaders can be co-opted

2. People in MP

1. don't prefer voting as per caste line
2. they have formed voting groups in form of occupation. eg- farmer group, worker group

3. Ruchir Sharma- book: Democracy on the road: A 25 Year Journey Through India

1. anti-incumbency is coined in India since in other major democracies, the incumbents generally win
2. in India they loose since India is continent of 29 states and there are many issues, not just economics, or caste arithmetic
3. FPTP system means that even a vote swing of 4-5% may result in opposition coming to power
4. regional leaders are very less possible to become national leaders
5. coalition is most important factor

4. PBM

1. just like religion, anti-corruption is also used by political parties to sway/mobilise people
2. anti-corruption institutions are not made robust since it will come at cost of leaders in the parties
3. people have high identification with leaders and prosecuting them may unite the supporters

5. Recent survey by change.org

1. women's top concerns
1. safety and crubing crime against women
2. pollution control and environment protection
3. faster judicial processes
4. religious freedom
5. mental health services
6. water and electric supply
7. waste disposal services
2. men's top concerns
1. GDP growth
2. jobs, fight against corruption
3. rural infrastructure
4. police reforms
5. public transport
6. UCC
7. roads
3. both men and women were likely to be influenced by the candidate's party 

6. Ashutosh Varshney

1. mass politics at rural level is run by religion and caste and sometimes by agrarian crisis and price rise
2. national security has been a matter of elite
3. gradually it is becoming a matter for middle class
1. the middle class is increasing and the reach of internet is spreading 

7. Mukulika Banerjee

1. her survey shows that Indian voters take the act of voting as sacrosanct and see it as an  exercise of their equal status as citizens,
2. the act of voting is form of empowerment for them

8. Yogendra Yadav

1. electorate negotiates its terms with the state through elections
2. popular aspirations are realised in very modest measure but the popular trust in the system continues.