1st Edition
Electoral Narratives of Democracy and Governance in India
The book examines the influence of context in which elections in contemporary India take place. It explores the interplay of elements of democracy and governance in electioneering — a process of the conglomeration of everything related to the election, including campaigns, parties, commissions, code of conduct, manifestos, voting - message-design in India.
The volume:
• Is founded on a variety of conceptual approaches: political economy approach, public sphere approach, community and context approach, federalism approach, institutional approach, and cultural approach;
• Draws on qualitative and quantitative analysis of rigorous field data;
• Underscores the contexts, contours, and cultures of elections in India;
• Analyses the ‘narratives’ inherent in electoral campaigns and electoral marketing;
• Studies complex, overlapping and multidimensional ways elections can be studied;
• Explicates the goal of electioneering in contemporary India - whether it is an ‘institution-driven’ or an ‘actor-driven’ process.
The volume will be essential reading for students, teachers and researchers of Indian politics and South Asian studies.
1. Linkage of Democracy, Governance, and Elections in India: Theoretical and Practical Issues
Yatindra Singh Sisodia and Pratip Chattopadhyay
PART I: Structure and Institutions
2. State Action, Autonomy and Electoral Democracy in India
Suraj Jacob
3. Managing Elections: Institutions and Perceptions of Electoral Integrity
Zaad Mahmood
PART II: Actors and Process
4. Election Economy in India
Ashutosh Kumar
5. The Rise of ‘New Public’ Development State and the Changing Face of India’s Electoral Democracy
Manisha Madhava
PART III: Democracy, Community and Elections
6. The New BJP: Expanding Social Base and Ideological Moorings
Rahul Verma and Armaan Mathur
7. Political Participation and Electoral Behaviour of Muslims in India since Independence: An Overview
Hilal Ahmed
8. Electoral Democracy and Gendered Representation: Spaces and Contestations
Priyanca Mathur
9. Apolitical Community and Elections: Comparative Study of Nath Community in Assam and West Bengal
Kunal Debnath
PART IV: Governance and Elections: Perspectives from State
10. Dynamic Regional Parties: Uncertainty of the State Capital and Parliamentary Institutions and Governance in Andhra Pradesh
E. Venkatesu
11. Issue of Democracy or Governance: Understanding Campaign on Migration in West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021
Pradipta Mukherjee
12. Himanta Ahise: Understanding NDA Victory in Assam
Vikas Tripathy and Ankur Jyoti Bhuyan
13. Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh: The Electoral vs. Real Issues
Ranjana Upadhyay
14. Single Caste Parties and their Electoral Significance in Uttar Pradesh: Assembly Elections 2022
Vipin Patel
15. Changing Profile of Madhya Pradesh MLA Candidates and its Impact on State Politics: A Comparative Analysis of Last Two Decades (1998-2018)
Dharmanshu Dhakar
Biography
Yatindra Singh Sisodia is Professor and Director, M.P. Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain (An ICSSR Institute). His areas of research interest are democracy, decentralised governance, electoral politics, tribal issues, and developmental issues.
Pratip Chattopadhyay is an Associate Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal.
