- Votebank
A Votebank (also spelled vote-bank or vote bank) is a loyal bloc of
voters from a singlecommunity , who consistently back a certaincandidate or political formation indemocratic elections . Such behaviour is often the result of an expectation of real or imagined benefits from the political formations, often at the cost of other communities.Votebank politics is the practice of creating and maintaining votebanks through divisive policies. As this brand of politics encourages voters to vote on the basis of narrow communal considerations, often against their better judgement, it is considered inimical to democracy.
The term was coined in
India , where the practice of votebank politics is rampant. Since then, it has gained currency in other Asian countries with a significant English-speaking population.Origins
The term vote-bank was first used by noted Indian
sociologist ,M. N. Srinivas cite journal | quotes = no | author = Ralph Grillo; Rodney Needham | year = 2000 | month = February | title = Obituary: M. N. Srinivas | journal = Anthropology Today | volume = 16 | issue = 1 | pages = 22 | id = ISSN|0268540X | url = http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/printpage/0268540x/di020268/02p00883/0-150.pdf?backcontext=page&dowhat=Acrobat&config=jstor&userID=816985f8@nwu.edu/01cc99333c00501ef62af&0-150.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2006-09-27] (who also coined the termsSanskritisation and dominant caste), in his1955 paper entitled "The Social System of a Mysore Village" cite book | last = Srinivas | first = M. N. | authorlink = M. N. Srinivas | coauthors = et al| editor = McKim Marriot | title = Village India: studies in the little community | origyear = 1955 | publisher = University of Chicago Press | location = Chicago | pages = 1-35 | chapter = The Social System of a Mysore Village ] . He used it in the context of political influence exerted by a patron over a client. Later, the expression was used byF. G. Bailey , a professor ofanthropology at theUniversity of California, San Diego , in his1959 book "Politics and Social Change" cite book | last = Bailey | first = F. G. | title = Politics and Social Change | origyear = 1959 | publisher = University of California Press | location = Berkeley ] , to refer to theelectoral influence of thecaste leader. This is the usage that has since become popular.Thought the term originally referred to voting along caste lines, it was soon expanded to describe votebanks based on other community characteristics, such as
religion andlanguage .References
External links
[http://www.himalmag.com/2004/may/commentary_4.htm Vote Bank Politics by Syed Ali Mujtaba]
See also
*
Indian politics
*Electoral system
*Political campaigning
*Blocks of Five
*Red states and blue states
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