The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about cast and nothing else.explain
Answers
No, I do not agree. The focus on caste in politics can sometimes give an impression that elections are all about caste and nothing else.
This is far from true because:
(i) No parliamentary constituency in the country has a clear majority of one single caste. So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win elections.
(ii) No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community. When people say that a caste is a ‘vote bank’ of one party, it usually means that a large proportion of the voters from the caste vote for the party.
(iii) Many political parties may put up candidates from the same caste (if that caste is believed to dominate the electorate in a particular constituency). Some voters have more than one candidate from their caste while many voters have no candidates from their caste.
(iv) The ruling party of the sitting M.P. or M.L.A. frequently loses elections in our country. That could not have happened if all castes or communities were frozen in their political preferences.
Answer:
(i) Constituencies are a mixture of people belonging to different castes :
No parliamentary constituency in the country has a clear majority of one single caste. So, every candidate and party needs to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win elections.
(ii) Different choices even within caste : No party wins the votes of all the voters of a caste or community because even within the community, people have different choices. When people say that a caste is a ‘vote bank’ of one party, it usually means that about two-thirds of the voters of that community.
(iii) Hunt for a dominating caste : Most of the political parties may put up candidates from the majority caste. But even this cannot guarantee their victory because some voters have more than one candidate from their castes, while many voters have no candidate from their castes.
History of elections : According to history of Indian elections, the ruling party and the sitting Member of the Parliament (MP) or Member of the Legistative Assembly (MLA) frequently lose elections in our country. This proves that though casteism and communalism play a major role in politics, but elections are not about caste and communalism.
If you like the answer please leave a like