On the Ground

Based on a personal journey through states in south, west, and north India, starting from Bengaluru and ending with Banaras, this chapter examines popular and elite conceptions of electoral politics during the 2014 Indian general election campaign. It argues that the National Democratic Alliance’s success was not monocausal, but arose from effective targeting of ‘winnable’ seats, high turnout by new voters, the professionalism of the BJP’s national campaign, and limits in the success of appeals to caste identity in favour of voter preference based on economic self-interest and aspiration. Using interviews with individuals, ‘On The Ground’ looks at the ways local, regional, or state factors can affect voting decisions.