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Ravikiran Rao
The answer lies in the increasing urbanisation of the voter. The urban voter is more likely to make up his mind by watching television. It is less likely that the choice is mediated by caste leaders. It is more likely that this citizen cares one way or the other about national level issues, such as industrial policy and national security. This citizen is more likely to directly engage with a leader from another state. It is of course a tautology that urban voters are more likely to care about urban issues.
Many analysts have pointed out that the urban middle class is not necessarily more liberal than the current voter. They are right. If anything, it is more likely to support Hindutva than the rural poor. The glimmer of hope is in initiating the national debate, not obtaining the conclusion that liberals want.
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[...] articulate and effective leaders with a national appeal—an aspect of which Ravikiran Rao deals with in this month’s issue of [...]
[...] Ah, but there is something new this time. Over 30 years back, a constitutional amendment had frozen the map of India’s parliamentary and legislative constituencies to reflect the India of 1971. The moratorium has now ended, and the picture has moved forward to reflect the India of 2001, an India that is much more urban than it was in 1971. I have reflected briefly on what urbanization means for India’s politics in the January 2008 Pragati [...]
[...] talk of this phenomenon, but I just want to place on record that I had talked of this back in January 2008. I am not sure if I was the first one to talk of this, but just in case I was, let the date be [...]