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| Thought the term originally referred to voting along caste lines, it was soon expanded to describe votebanks based on other community characteristics, such as ] and ]. | Thought the term originally referred to voting along caste lines, it was soon expanded to describe votebanks based on other community characteristics, such as ] and ]. | ||
| == References == | == References == | ||
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| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
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Revision as of 05:17, 3 October 2006
A Votebank (also spelled vote-bank or vote bank) is a loyal bloc of voters from a single community, who consistently back a certain candidate or political formation in democratic 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 (who also coined the terms Sanskritisation and dominant caste), in his 1955 paper entitled 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 by F. G. Bailey, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, in his 1959 book Politics and Social Change, to refer to the electoral influence of the caste 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 and language.
References
- Ralph Grillo; Rodney Needham (2000). "Obituary: M. N. Srinivas" (PDF). Anthropology Today. 16 (1): 22. ISSN 0268540X Parameter error in {{issn}}: Invalid ISSN.. Retrieved 2006-09-27.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|quotes=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Srinivas, M. N. "The Social System of a Mysore Village". In McKim Marriot (ed.). Village India: studies in the little community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 1–35.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Bailey, F. G. Politics and Social Change. Berkeley: University of California Press.
External links
Vote Bank Politics by Syed Ali Mujtaba