Changing Electoral Politics in Delhi: From Caste to Class

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SAGE Publications, Sep 30, 2013 - Political Science - 248 pages

Changing Electoral Politics in Delhi is an in-depth analysis of voting patterns of voters in Delhi. Rapid immigration has changed the social profile of Delhi’s voters who seemed to vote more on class lines than caste as witnessed in many states.

During Partition, the city had witnessed large-scale migration from Pakistan. Recent decades have also witnessed an influx of people to Delhi from various states. Subsequently, the demographic profile of Delhi has changed with a sizeable majority of migrants in many assembly constituencies. This transformation has a distinct impact on the electoral politics.

Since Delhi attracts people from various states and regions, it has resulted in a cosmopolitan culture. As compared to the past, class differences have become sharper now, reflected not only by people’s perception and attitude regarding various issues, but also when it comes to voting. By using first-hand survey data of a cross section of voters, the author demonstrates the voting patterns of the last four assembly elections and illustrates how class is more important than caste in Delhi’s politics today.

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About the author (2013)

Sanjay Kumar is Professor and Director of Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) since 2014. His core area of research is electoral politics, but he has also been engaged in research on Indian youth, state of democracy, and slums of Delhi. He has directed several national-level studies, most important being the series of National Election Study (NES) conducted by Lokniti–CSDS since 1996. Earlier, he had authored Changing Electoral Politics in Delhi: From Caste to Class; co-authored (with Peter Ronald de Souza and Sandeep Shastri) Indian Youth in a Transforming World: Attitudes and Perceptions; edited Indian Youth and Electoral Politics: An Emerging Engagement; and co-edited (with Suhas Palshikar and Sanjay Lodha) Electoral Politics in India: Resurgence of the Bharatiya Janata Party and (with Christophe Jaffrelot) Rise of the Plebeians? The Changing Face of Indian Legislative Assemblies. He has contributed chapters in several edited volumes and research journals and writes regularly for national newspapers. He is also a known face on Indian television as an expert on elections.

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