Vote Bank Politics

 The conventional discourse on the subject holds that identity and politics intermixing increases the divide between communities and causes conflict. Sometimes the intermixing of caste or tribal identities with politics is just what a community needs to make its issues a part of the political discourse.

During the Manipur election Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh use the historic differences between the Nagas, Kukis and Meiteis to his advantage. He’d fuelled the animosity between the groups, telling the dominant Meitei population that the BJP was siding with the Nagas who wanted the state to be divided. 

Caste and tribal identities are a central element of politics in India and aren’t going to disappear anytime soon. There isn’t a single party that contests elections without paying heed to the caste arithmetic operating in each constituency. In a country as complicated as India, social groups such as a caste or a tribe are a support system to navigate the mess that is governance, where the individual is insignificant and has no voice. An individual voter may be irrelevant, but a vote bank is invaluable. By associating themselves with a caste- or tribe-based voting bloc, voters are able to amplify their demands and voices. Political parties are forced to take the demands of the group seriously because they represent a bloc of votes that could change electoral outcomes.

Identity politics in India provides a basis for the formation of strong pressure groups that can pressurize the government to act. Most caste groups and voters have similar problems—of unemployment, lack of proper remuneration for agricultural produce, delivery of government schemes and oppression from administrative officials.Dalit vote banks have also led to the call for drastic social change and assertion of its rights by the community. Parties like the BSP have played a key role in strengthening the Dalit community and providing it with self-respect. Politicians have come to realize the benefits of a core vote bank and often bestow special favours on specific groups in the hope of getting the votes of the entire community, thus forming a mutually beneficial arrangement with voters.Identity politics isn’t just a divisive tool used by politicians, but also a tool for the voiceless masses to organize themselves and get themselves heard in a system where they would otherwise remain ignored.

identity politics cannot be ended through legislation or by the Election Commission. It can be ended only if the individual is empowered and has such a strong voice in governance that he or she does not require the refuge of their caste to assert their rights.

This positive empowerment, unfortunately, hasn’t translated to identity politics based on religion, where the key messaging remains focused on the evilness of the other community. Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) are examples of parties that have unified Muslims based on their fear of Hindus instead of a message of socio-economic upliftment of the community.

In order to continue to win elections, the BJP would need to maintain its Hindu vote bank. Studies have shown that the party benefits electorally due to increased polarization.These were some of the visible elements of the BJP’s larger attempts at consolidating the Hindu vote . The other part were party functionaries and supporters using the media, social media and speeches to perpetuate the propaganda that Muslims would take over India if the BJP was not elected back to power.