Navigating Fiscal Constraints

Abstract

In recent decades, India has witnessed an upsurge in electoral participation among lower-caste voters. This broadening social profile of democratic practice occurred alongside a pluralization of the party system marked by the entry of new contenders advocating on behalf of lower caste groups. Coincident with this transformation of the political arena, the country recorded an alarming growth in gross electoral expenditure. Today, reliable estimates peg India as the world’s second most expensive democracy in terms of aggregate campaign spending. This chapter examines how the most prominent Dalit (ex-Untouchable) party in Tamil Nadu—Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) or Liberation Panthers Party—navigates the challenges associated with election finance, investigating how VCK candidates mobilize resources to sustain competitive campaigns. Fiscal constraints incentivize smaller parties to join coalitions spearheaded by their more established counterparts, yet these electoral arrangements do not strictly entail a quid pro quo exchange of vote-banks for financial and canvassing support, but entail complex negotiations that structure the terms of electoral participation.