Gilles Verniers
The author is assistant professor of political science, Ashoka University.
Articles By Gilles Verniers
Explained: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana — two states, two election stories
The results of the Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have shown both the strengths and weaknesses of regional parties. The elections have also demonstrated that the BJP can continue to expect to expand wherever the Congress remains the main opposition party
Breaking down the Uttar Pradesh verdict: In biggest bout, knockout
Data from Uttar Pradesh suggest the BJP pursued in 2019 the same strategy that helped it sweep the state in 2017: cater to all the groups that are not affiliated traditionally with either the SP or the BSP.
Explained: Why so many MPs are dynasts
A record 30% of the new Lok Sabha MPs belong to political families. Among states, Punjab and Bihar have the highest proportions of dynastic MPs. Among parties, Congress remains the most dynastic but BJP is catching up, while CPM is the least dynastic. Two political scientists examine the trends and reasons
Explained: In Hindi heartland, upper castes dominate new Lok Sabha
Election results decoded: The last decade has seen the return of the upper castes and the erosion of OBC representation.
How UP was conquered: BJP victory validates electoral mobilisation based on emotional appeals, patriotism
Flagship schemes and Modi’s personality did play their role, certainly. But the delinking of economic realities and political performance raises the thought that there is more to it than government performance and individual leadership.
The invisible man
One finds little discussion on the place or role of citizens, who are depicted mostly as passive recipients of state intervention on the economy. The various flashbacks principally serve to underline the merits of the current administration, using contrast as a tool of comparison.
Anatomy of a choice
SP-BSP partnership in UP makes the contest open and competitive in India’s politically most important state
How to read December 11
These assembly polls saw conventional campaigns. Congress counts on anti-incumbency, not its own story
Absence on the bench
Except that the professionalism of the judiciary tends to decrease as one climbs down the judicial institutional ladder.
The dwindling minority
Drop in Muslim representation in legislatures is related to the rise of the BJP.
What Kairana means
What looks like an ideological battle from afar, BJP vs Rest, is an accumulation of local factors on the ground.
Gorakhpur in perspective
What do SP-BSP victories in UP by-polls prefigure for 2019? Not much
Constructing Democracy
What went into the makings of India’s democracy and the crucial role of bureaucratic cogs, big and small, in defining citizenship
Reading Gujarat verdict: Rural-urban divide underlined, Congress gains for future
The BJP has fallen short of the 150 seats promised by Amit Shah. More worryingly for the party, no regional leader has emerged.
Caste of characters
In Gujarat, religious polarisation remains a dominant theme. And caste is back, in a different version
The Gujarat difference
BJP successfully occupied the space of a regional party in the state. Congress strategy is still made in Delhi.
Tweedledee, tweedledum
Lines between Congress and BJP are regularly crossed in Gujarat. The BJP gets the advantage
Upper hand for upper castes in House
The return to power of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh has led to a resurgence in the representation of the upper castes. The new Assembly consists of 44.3% upper caste MLAs, 12 percentage points more than in 2012, and the highest share in UP Assemblies since 1980.
The rise of the floating voter
UP election confirms that caste-centric strategies of parties have been rendered less effective.
The rise of the floating voter
With 39.7 per cent of the votes and 75.7 per cent of the seats, the BJP scores the best performance recorded by any party in Uttar Pradesh since the Janata Party victory in 1977.
