ABSTRACT
Citizens of the Indian Subcontinent are generally understood as vote sellers, where clients sell their votes to patrons offering the best material inducement. However, this understanding cannot explain why client-voters may be swayed by non-material incentives in casting their vote. This chapter introduces a sub-type of clientelism, rooted in religion and politics, that accounts for non-material inducements. I argue that embedded identities, like personalised religious bonds, can trump a voter’s material preferences in casting their vote. Furthermore, I examine how specific functional aspects of this power structure may hinder the self-determination of voters, ultimately subverting the democratic ideal of one man, one vote.
