ABSTRACT

This empirically rich volume presents a holistic picture of the electoral process in Indian states and the return of the BJP to power. Drawing on the 2019 elections, it presents ground-level data to understand various aspects of elections: the nature of campaigning, caste, class and identity politics, electoral issues, poll strategies of different parties in the fray, electoral issues, electoral verdicts, the contestants, the leadership factor, the formation of government, among other empirical details. The essays underline the determinants of electoral behaviour by looking into the correlation between the background variables of voters and their voting choices. The essays also compare and contrast the 2019 election verdicts from the earlier elections held in the state under study. A long view of Indian state politics, this book will be essential reference for scholars and researchers of politics, especially political processes, and South Asian studies.

part I|80 pages

Northern states

chapter 2|17 pages

Explaining the two Delhi verdicts in comparative perspective

Party identification, leadership, and welfare

chapter 3|9 pages

The INC win in Punjab

An outlier in the north

chapter 4|18 pages

Continuity and change in Haryana politics

Lok Sabha and assembly elections, 2019

chapter 6|12 pages

Bharatiya Janata Party victory in Uttar Pradesh

A shift from caste-based politics

chapter 7|9 pages

Electoral politics in a hill state

2019 elections in Uttarakhand

part II|50 pages

Central states

chapter 8|18 pages

Madhya Pradesh

Continued ascendance of the Bharatiya Janata Party

part III|42 pages

Western states

chapter 11|15 pages

Maharashtra

(The pangs of) transitions into a new party system

chapter 12|9 pages

Gujarat

Caste, region, and political leadership

chapter 13|16 pages

Goa

BJP's electoral slide but political triumph

part IV|54 pages

Eastern states

chapter 14|10 pages

Bihar

A comprehensive victory for the NDA 1

chapter 15|18 pages

‘Jai Bangla' and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai'

Explaining the emerging political dynamics in West Bengal

chapter 16|12 pages

Odisha dual verdict

Leadership, welfare, Hindutva

chapter 17|12 pages

Jharkhand

The ascendance of the BJP as a dominant party

part V|80 pages

Southern states

chapter 18|14 pages

Its lone southern comfort

Lotus blooms in Karnataka 1

chapter 19|16 pages

Andhra Pradesh

Dominant caste cleavages, continuities, and reflections

chapter 20|15 pages

Kerala

Explaining the dominance of UDF

chapter 21|20 pages

Verdict 2019

Reinforcing Dravidian identity politics in Tamil Nadu

chapter 22|13 pages

Springing a surprise

Electoral politics in the state of Telangana

part VI|42 pages

North eastern states

chapter 23|23 pages

Voting pattern in the North East

Special focus on Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Manipur

chapter 24|17 pages

Assam

Saffron persists in an ethnic setting