Voting Behaviour

Meaning and Concept

Voting Behaviour, also known as Electoral Behaviour, refers to how voters behave during elections — that is, how they make their voting decisions, what factors influence them, and how their political attitudes are shaped.

In simple words, it studies why people vote the way they do.

Let’s look at a few authoritative definitions 👇

• Plano and Riggs:
  “Voting behaviour is a field of study concerned with the ways in which people tend to vote in public elections and the reasons why they vote as they do.”
• Gordon Marshall:
  “The study of voting behaviour focuses on the determinants of why people vote as they do and how they arrive at the decisions they make.”
• Oinam Kulabidhu:
  “Voting behaviour explicitly reflects the voter’s choices, preferences, ideologies, concerns, and agreements in respect of issues and questions pertaining to society and the nation.”

🧭 In short:
Voting behaviour studies the psychology, sociology, and politics of voting — it is where society meets politics at the ballot box.

📊 Significance of Studying Voting Behaviour

The scientific study of voting patterns is called Psephology — from the Greek word “Psephos” (meaning a pebble or pottery piece used for voting in ancient Greece).

Psephology is a branch of Political Science that applies statistics, sociology, and behavioural analysis to understand elections.

🧠 Why is the study of voting behaviour important?

1. Understanding Political Socialisation:
   It helps us see how people develop their political attitudes — whether through family, education, media, or experiences.
2. Assessing Democratic Values:
   It reveals how deeply democracy is internalised among citizens — whether people vote based on independent thinking or traditional loyalties.
3. Evaluating the Power of the Ballot Box:
   It helps assess how much change voting can actually bring in governance and social structures.
4. Linking Past and Present Politics:
   It shows whether voters have moved beyond caste, religion, and region or still follow old patterns.
5. Measuring Political Development:
   By analysing voting patterns, we can gauge whether political participation is modern (rational, issue-based) or primordial (identity-based).

💬 According to N.G.S. Kini:

Voting behaviour can be seen as:

1. A mode of legitimising democratic rule,
2. An act of participation in political life,
3. A decision-making process,
4. A reflection of political culture, and
5. A link between the citizen and the formal government.

In short — voting is not just about pressing a button; it’s a psychological, cultural, and social act of belonging and belief.

🧩 Determinants of Voting Behaviour in India

India’s society is multicultural, multi-religious, and multi-linguistic — so, our voting behaviour is shaped by many overlapping factors.

Broadly, these can be divided into two groups:

A. Socio-Economic Factors
B. Political Factors

Let’s understand them one by one 👇

1. Caste

Caste remains one of the most powerful determinants of voting behaviour in India.

• Politics and caste are deeply interlinked.
• As Rajni Kothari aptly said:
  “Indian politics is casteist, and caste is politicised.”
• Political parties openly consider caste arithmetic when selecting candidates or forming alliances.

📖 Paul Brass observed:
“At the local level, caste solidarity remains the dominant factor. Large and powerful castes tend to support their own members or a party identified with their caste.”

🧠 Example:
Yadavs with SP, Jatavs with BSP, Patidars in Gujarat, or Marathas in Maharashtra — caste still acts as a crucial voting identity.

2. Religion

Religion also plays a major role in shaping political loyalties.

• Parties often indulge in communal propaganda, invoking religious sentiments to influence voters.
• Though India is a secular state, religious polarisation during elections is a recurring phenomenon.

🧠 Example:
The rise of religious parties like the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sikh) or Muslim League, or communal voting during certain polarised elections.

3. Language

Language-based identity has been a strong emotional force in India.

• Political parties frequently appeal to linguistic pride.
• State reorganisation in 1956 on a linguistic basis proved its importance.

🧠 Example:
The rise of DMK in Tamil Nadu and TDP in Andhra Pradesh was driven largely by linguistic and cultural assertion.

4. Region

Regionalism and sub-regionalism create strong local loyalties.

• Voters often support regional parties that promise to protect the interests of their state or area.
• Sometimes, secessionist sentiments lead to boycotts or anti-national appeals.

🧠 Examples:

• Shiv Sena in Maharashtra (Marathi pride)
• BJD in Odisha (regional identity)
• TMC in West Bengal (Bengali sentiment)

5. Personality

The charisma of political leaders often outweighs party ideology.

• Indian voters often vote for the leader rather than the party.
• Strong personalities can create “wave elections.”

🧠 Examples:

• Nationally: Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Vajpayee, Narendra Modi.
• State level: M.G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa, Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik.

This is called the “personality-oriented voting pattern”, a hallmark of Indian elections.

6. Money Power

Money plays a huge role in mobilising voters — despite legal limits on spending.

• Voters are often influenced by gifts, liquor, or cash.
• This leads to the cynical phrase: “Votes are exchanged for notes.”

However, money power matters less in a wave election, where sentiment overrides local inducements.

📖 Paul Brass defines a wave election as:

“A situation where a clear trend develops across the country in favour of one party or leader, cutting across local loyalties.”

🧠 Example:
Indira Gandhi’s 1971 victory, Modi wave of 2014 and 2019 — where national mood outweighed money or caste.

7. Performance of the Ruling Party

This is known as the “anti-incumbency factor.”

• Voters assess whether the government fulfilled its promises.
• Poor performance leads to anger and change, while good performance ensures renewed support.

🧠 Examples:

• Congress defeat in 1977 (Emergency backlash).
• Janata Party defeat in 1980 (instability backlash).

8. Party Identification

Many voters develop a long-term emotional attachment with a political party — based on family, history, or ideology.

• Such voters remain loyal regardless of the party’s mistakes.
• This is known as “partisan identification.”

🧠 Example:
Old Congress loyalists across generations, or BJP loyalists committed to the party’s ideology.

9. Ideology

Voters influenced by ideological commitments — communism, socialism, secularism, nationalism, etc. — tend to vote consistently for parties that represent these values.

🧠 Examples:

• CPI/CPM supporters → left ideology
• BJP supporters → nationalism and cultural integration
• Congress supporters → secular democracy and centrism

10. Other Factors

Beyond caste and religion, many situational and psychological factors influence voting decisions:

1. Political events — like wars, assassinations, or corruption scandals.
2. Economic conditions — inflation, unemployment, and growth.
3. Factionalism — local rivalries within parties.
4. Candidate orientation — reputation, accessibility, and background of the candidate.
5. Election campaign quality — use of social media, rallies, and slogans.
6. Political family background — dynastic appeal (e.g., Gandhi family).
7. Role of media — how issues are framed or leaders portrayed.

🧠 Analytical Perspective

Determinant	Nature	Impact on Voter Choice
Caste & Religion	Traditional	Creates group-based loyalty
Language & Region	Cultural	Strengthens regional parties
Personality	Psychological	Creates wave elections
Money Power	Economic	Influences marginal voters
Performance & Issues	Rational	Encourages issue-based voting
Party Identification	Emotional	Builds long-term partisanship
Ideology	Intellectual	Shapes consistent political alignment

🎯 In Conclusion

Voting behaviour in India has evolved — but not completely transformed.

• Earlier: dominated by caste, religion, and local ties.
• Now: increasingly shaped by leadership image, governance, and media influence.

Yet, identity factors remain deeply embedded in our social fabric.

“Indian democracy is unique — our voters may be poor, but they are not politically ignorant. They understand whom they vote for, and why.”

🧩 Essence in One Line:

Voting behaviour in India is a fusion of tradition and modernity, where identity meets ideology, and emotion meets reason.