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, approach of political parties, approach of election commission, code of conduct, election manifestos, voting and—message-design of electoral communication 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 PART I: Structure and Institutions 2. State Action, Autonomy and Electoral Democracy in India 3. Managing Elections: Institutions and Perceptions of Electoral Integrity PART II: Actors and Process 4. Election Economy in India 5. The Rise of ‘New Public’ Development State and the Changing Face of India’s Electoral Democracy PART III: Democracy, Community and Elections 6. The New BJP: Expanding Social Base and Ideological Moorings 7. Political Participation and Electoral Behaviour of Muslims in India since Independence: An Overview 8. Electoral Democracy and Gendered Representation: Spaces and Contestations 9. Apolitical Community and Elections: Comparative Study of Nath Community in Assam and West Bengal 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 11. Issue of Democracy or Governance: Understanding Campaign on Migration in West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 12. Making of the BJP Dominant System in Assam 13. Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh: The Electoral vs. Real Issues 14. Single Caste Parties and their Electoral Significance in Uttar Pradesh: Assembly Elections 2022 15. Changing Profile of Madhya Pradesh MLA Candidates and its Impact on State Politics: A Comparative Analysis of Last Two Decades (1998-2018)
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 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal.
