Avotebank (also spelledvote-bank orvote bank), in the political discourse ofIndia, is a loyalbloc ofvoters from a singlecommunity, who consistently back a certaincandidate or political formation indemocraticelections. Such behavior is often the result of an expectation of benefits, whether real or imagined, from the political formations, often at the cost of other communities. Votebank politics is the practice of creating and maintaining votebank through divisive policies. As it encourages voting on the basis of self-interest of certain groups, often against their better judgement, it is considered harmful to the principles of therepresentative democracy.[1] Here, community may be of acaste,religion,language, orsubnation.
The term was first used by noted Indiansociologist,M. N. Srinivas[2] in his 1955 paper entitledThe Social System of a Mysore Village.[3] 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 his 1959 bookPolitics and Social Change,[4] to refer to theelectoral influence of the caste leader. This is the usage that has since become popular.
Some of the first identified votebanks were along caste lines. Others based on other community characteristics, such asreligion andlanguage, have also occurred. Votebanks are generally considered undesirable in electoral politics. For example,Thapar (2013) argues that votebanks based on either caste or religion stand in the way of secularisation.Katju (2011) identifies accusations of votebanking as a rhetorical tool used byHindu nationalists in complaints about special rights or privileges granted to non-Hindus in India. Other examples include:
Some argue[who?] that the Votebank politics can be disabled by limiting the provisions ofTenth Schedule ofIndian Constitution to afew critical issues.[clarification needed][citation needed]
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