Was it the party in power at the centre that benefited more from electoral bonds or did the parties in power in the states benefit? Can one see a pattern in the economic characteristics of the states…
The Azad Samaj Party represents both a crisis following the fracturing of the Dalit movement and a possible future regeneration under a new Ambedkarite organisation.
The ousted government in Andhra Pradesh had banked heavily on Direct Benefit Transfers to build a political constituency, but the electorate might be asking for development too.
After two ‘extraordinary’ elections where Narendra Modi was able to create a charismatic appeal, India has had a ‘normal’ election in which a Ceasarian appeal could not be generated. With a return to…
A parliamentary democracy thrives on diverse representation and opinion. The strong leader syndrome of the past decade is antithetical to such a democracy. Coalition governments have historically…
The return of regional parties to the political centre stage notwithstanding, their origins and histories hold them back from becoming pan-Indian national parties.
Migrants are often unable to cast their votes due to systemic exclusions and economic constraints. This has made them invisible as a vote-bank and heightened their marginalisation.
The last two decades have seen little increase in welfare spending. But the NDA government has created an image of being focused on welfare by renaming schemes, appropriating older ones, and starving…
Corporate business financing of politics in India goes back decades. The court ruling on the electoral bonds scheme is not going to end this business-politics nexus. We can only hope that the nexus…
