Legislative Assembly Elections Research Articles

Social Media Use and Impact on Voters and Candidates in Kerala

This article presents a comprehensive survey of social media usage among Kerala voters across three parliamentary constituencies ( N = 1500). It explores the socio-economic factors influencing both online and offline political engagement and sheds light on how social media empowers younger voters by reducing their reliance on traditional influencers. Kerala’s social media trends align with those of developed nations like the USA, in contrast to broader Indian digital and gender divide indicators. The study also delves into the social media strategies of 280 successful candidates in the April 2019 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections, identifying the key factors influencing their electoral success. Notably, Facebook engagement metrics, such as shares and followers, emerge as more significant predictors of candidate winnability than Twitter metrics. The research highlights the profound impact of social media on political communication, perception, youth participation and candidate strategies, ultimately shaping electoral outcomes in Kerala. This study addresses a critical research gap regarding social media use among Kerala voters and the reciprocal strategies adopted by candidates, including the predictive impact on candidates’ performance.

The Influence of Sexism and Incivility in WhatsApp Political Discussions on Affective Polarization: Evidence from a 2022 Multi-Party Election in India

In contemporary political discourse, the concern of affective polarization, often fueled by uncivil and sexist discourse, is notably evident in digital communication contexts like WhatsApp. In this study, we examined the potential effects of uncivil and sexist messages as well as moderator interventions against these messages coming from political in- and out-group members in such political groups through a survey experiment ( N = 1,464) fielded during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh (India) Legislative Assembly Elections. We investigate these questions and extend the prior work on affective polarization by introducing a new measure of Average Inter-party Affective Distance, which provides a single metric to index overall polarization in a multi-party election context. Our results showed that exposure to sexist uncivil messages had no discernible effect on affective polarization, political participation, and voting intention. Additionally, moderator warnings against incivility had no significant effects. However, we observed a variation in how respondents processed these messages based on their preexisting attitudes; notably, individuals with less sexist views were more inclined to vote after being exposed to sexist uncivil messages. These findings suggest that the influence of incivility and sexism in messaging platforms like WhatsApp on the wider electorate’s political behavior and attitudes is relatively limited. This research contributes to our understanding of the role of digital political communication, highlighting the importance of message content and preexisting individual differences in shaping affective polarization and mobilization.

Карнатака как южная политическая лаборатория “Бхаратия джаната парти”

Karnataka has become the first and only state in South India where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ever won Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) elections and come to power. Moreover, in four general elections from 2004 to 2019, the party won a majority of the total of twenty-eight Karnataka’s parliamentary seats. Thus, the state is known as a stronghold of the saffron party in South India, which has a rather significant impact on the national political landscape and the balance of power in Delhi. The article examines ethnocultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and political specifics of South India as a whole and covers the key moments and the main causes of the BJP’s rise in Karnataka. It also scrutinizes the party’s methods of social engineering. These include building of electorally successful social coalitions, winning over dominant caste groups and local political leaders as well as political mobilization based on Hindutva, inter alia through disputes over sacred sites important for both Hindus and Muslims, campaigns against religious conversions, “hindutvatisation” of education, etc. Furthermore, the article examines whether and to what extent these methods are effective in Karnataka and may be replicable in other southern states. The article also investigates the causes of the BJP’s defeat by the Indian National Congress in Karnataka Vidhan Sabha election in May 2023. The author concludes that despite this failure the BJP has not completely lost the state as a springboard in South India, from where it plans to spread its influence to the rest of the region, and remains the majority party in the country and the frontrunner in the general election to be held in 2024.

Political Participation of Garo Women in Legislative Assembly Elections in Meghalaya

Political Participation of Garo Women in Legislative Assembly Elections in Meghalaya

Electoral campaigning through social media during pandemic in Bihar legislative assembly election: An analysis

Electoral campaigning through social media during pandemic in Bihar legislative assembly election: An analysis

Dr. Dukhan Ram: For the greater good.

Dr. Dukhan Ram was born on July 15, 1899, in Sasaram, Bihar. He was born into a Vaisya family with poor financial means, it was needless to say that his childhood was riddled with hardships, losing his father at a tender age of four. As a young boy herding cattle, he would listen attentively to the village teacher teaching the students, from afar.[1] Once the teacher discovered him reciting everything that he had taught the students a day ago. Surprised and sensing a hidden potential, the teacher kindly allowed him to sit for the classes.[1] He admired and was possibly inspired by the village doctor, Dr. Jaffer Hasan, who would go on visits in a palanquin and was revered by all the villagers.[1] Dr. Ram started doing part-time jobs as a tutor and selling ready-made garments to supplement his income and continue his studies.[1] A sincere and hardworking student from the beginning, he received several scholarships, which helped him to fulfill his academic desires. He joined Calcutta Medical College and simultaneously enrolled in BSc classes in the evening. He graduated in both medicine (1926) and a Bachelor of Science (1925). After an internship at Patna Medical College, Bihar, he was selected by the Government of Bihar to go to England for specialization in ENT and Ophthalmology.[2] He completed his DLO and DOMS Ophthalmology from the coveted Royal College of Surgeons of London. On his return to India in 1934, he joined Patna Medical College as faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology. The Patna Medical College was founded in 1925 and was the sixth-oldest medical college in India.[3] He became a professor in 1944 and built a robust department, initializing DO, DLO, MS (Eye), and MS (ENT) courses. In 1959, he was appointed the Principal of the institution. Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, the then health minister of India, nominated him as a member of the Governing Body of AIIMS, New Delhi, a role which he served until the Institute was fully established.[1] He was also the Vice Chancellor of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University and supported the establishment of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, and medical colleges in Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur. In 1945, the British Government bestowed on him the title of Rai Sahib. He was an active member of Pradhan of Arya Samaj, founded by Dayanand Saraswati, and was the President of the Bihar chapter of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha in 1951, Vice President of the All India Pratinidhi Sabha in 1956 and President of the International Arya League held in Mauritius in 1957. Dr. Ram was the Founding President of the Bihar unit of the All India Ophthalmological Society and helmed the conferences held in Patna (1952) and Jamshedpur (1956) and was the President of the AIOS in 1961. He was the President of the A.O.I and chaired the national conference of ENT in 1953.[2] He was also the President of the Bihar chapter of the Indian Medical Association from 1954–1955. He was the Founding President of the Institute of Administrative Studies at Patna for higher studies in administration and management. A surgeon with exceptional skills, he respected the ocular tissues and was devoted to his patients and students. He was requested to operate on the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, for cataract in 1957. This tradition continued and he was the honorary ophthalmic surgeon for four subsequent Presidents, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Dr. Zakir Husain, V.V.Giri, and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Dr. Ram was also a member of the Mudaliar Committee of 1959, set up by the Government of India as a Health Survey and Planning Committee for reviewing and proposing guidelines for medical relief and public health services, chaired by A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar. In 1962, Dr. Ram contested as the candidate for the Indian National Congress from Sasaram against Bipan Behari Sinha of the Praja Socialist Party in the Bihar Legislative Assembly election and won by a margin of 11,984 votes! The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan in 1962. Dr. Ram passed away on April 16, 1990, at the ripe age of 90. He is survived by his six children and an untarnished glowing legacy. The Dr. Dukhan Ram DAV Public School in Patna, the Bihar and Jharkhand State Branch of The Association of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgeons of India’s annual oration, Dr. Dukhan Ram Memorial Oration, are named after him. He is fondly remembered as a gifted surgeon and an understanding teacher.[2] Image credits Soft pastels on paper by Dr. Suhas Sarawade, Professor of Ophthalmology, Dr. V. M. Government Medical college, Solapur, Maharashtra, Inda. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.

Shaping Electoral Outcomes: Intra- and Anti-systemic Violence in Indian Assembly Elections

AbstractElectoral violence is perpetrated by anti-systemic actors opposed to the democratic system, as well as by those vying for power through the electoral process. Even though the motivations for violent tactics are distinct, we do not know whether intra- and anti-systemic violence differ in their effects. Focusing on state-level elections in India – a country that combines nationwide elections with persistent political violence – we demonstrate that the distinction is crucial for understanding spatial patterns of electoral violence and effects on election outcomes. Based on an original dataset of violence in legislative assembly elections between 1985 and 2008, we show that both tactics depress turnout overall but that the effect is larger for anti-systemic violence. Intra-systemic violence not only appears to be more selectively targeted, as it is more likely to occur in constituencies where the incumbent belongs to the state-level opposition, but also generates electoral benefits for the party in control of state government.

Emerging Trends and Influential Factors in the 2022 Punjab State Elections

This study explores the emerging trends and factors that influenced the Punjab Legislative Assembly Elections in 2022, shedding light on the evolving dynamics of electoral politics in India. The research employs a comparative analytical approach, utilizing data from various sources such as published literature, online resources, and databases to examine voter preferences, party strategies, and electoral outcomes. The 2022 elections witnessed an unprecedented victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), highlighting the shift in voter priorities towards development, unemployment, health, and sanitation. Key findings include the growing importance of social media and digital campaigns in shaping voter preferences, the increasing significance of women and youth voters in the electoral landscape, and the decline of traditional political forces. These results have crucial implications for the future of Indian politics, emphasizing the need for political parties to address changing voter priorities, engage with digital platforms, and cater to the concerns of women and youth demographics. This study provides valuable insights for political parties seeking to navigate the shifting landscape of the world's largest democracy.

Political representation of women in legislative assembly elections of Assam

The representation of women in legislative assembly elections of Assam have not improved since independence. Although Assam has a dignified history of women but they are not included in decision making and party politics of the state. Assam had witnessed a decline of percentage of women elected members of legislative assembly (MLA). In 2021 lowest number of women MLA’s are elected in comparison to other consecutive years. Here in this study, an attempt is made to observe political party-wise change in percentage of elected women MLA’s of Assam from 2001 to 2021. Moreover, the study had tried to bring percentage comparison between elected male and female MLA’s of Assam. Further, the study had also observed difference between contested and won women candidates in Assam legislative assembly elections. The result of the study shows that there is need of further improvement in representation of women in Assam politics. The study also shows huge difference between male and female elected MLA’s in legislative assembly elections of Assam. Regional political parties of Assam should give more candidature to women candidates in legislative elections in comparison to national political parties of the country.

Political representation of women in legislative assembly elections of Assam

Political representation of women in legislative assembly elections of Assam

Campaigning and party strategies in Assam

ABSTRACT Political campaigning in Assam and the Northeast region is distinctive in India’s hybrid media system. This study discusses parties and political campaigning in Assam’s hybrid media environment in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Legislative Assembly elections. The history of the state, party system development, and the media landscape precedes a discussion of the 2019 campaign drawing on interviews with party strategiests and television journalists. Although Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were on the rise as important campaign tools in Assam and the Northeast region in 2019, traditional political advertising (posters, pamphlets), coverage of political issues in traditional media (print and television news), as well as face-to-face communication (public meetings, door-to-door canvassing and rallies) remained the most important sources of political communication between voters and parties due to substantially lower teledensity than the national average. We explore how political parties used a mix of ‘advanced’ and ‘traditional’ campaigning tools to mobilize voters to support party agendas during the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the 2021 Legislative Assembly election campaign.

Reifying subjectivities: A critical discourse analysis of The Assam Tribune in Northeast India

This article examines how colonial mentalities of subjectifying the people are reinstated in postcolonial Northeast India through the media. Using the Bodos as a context of the argument, the paper studies The Assam Tribune news headlines during the 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election. By studying both micro- and macrostructures of news headlines, using critical discourse analysis (CDA), the article argues that the media continue to reify the subjective consciousness of the population as a discourse that dominates the conflicting ground of social, cultural, and political coexistence across the multi-ethnic populations. While deflecting the government’s divisive policies, the media portrays the government as the source of ‘solution’. Although the technique of governance differs from colonial to postcolonial regime, the objective to constantly subjectify the multi-ethnic population within their realm of subjective consciousness for the purpose of governance remains the same.

THE DETERMINANTS OF PUBLIC GOODS PROVISION: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE MAJOR STATES OF INDIA

The objective of the paper is to identify the factors that affect the physical provision of public goods by the state governments and measure their impact. The empirical analysis is based on political and socio-economic panel data from the 14 major states of India during 1967-68 to 2000-01. The analysis indicates that variation in the provision of public goods can be explained by the proximity of a scheduled state legislative assembly election, the effective number of parties, and the caste heterogeneity of the population. It is observed that the proximity of a scheduled election lowers the provision of public goods that require large investments and more time to deliver physically and vice-versa. Effective numbers of parties raise zilla parishad road length and lower urban road length, wells, etc. Moreover, caste heterogeneity raises per capita net electricity generated but lowers net area irrigated. Keywords: Public goods, Infrastructures, Government investment analysis, Government policy, and Irrigation.

Faith revival and issue framing in Kerala’s 2019 campaign

ABSTRACT This study offers an overview of Kerala's party-system development, media landscape and campaign dynamics against the backdrop of the 2019 parliamentary election. The 2019 election was widely predicted to be a golden opportunity for the BJP to secure its first parliamentary seat from Kerala, with the highly emotive and polarizing ‘women’s entry into Sabarimala temple’ becoming the most salient campaign issue. The study situates this key campaign issue and its mobilisational potential in Kerala’s party-system and hybrid media environment. Drawing from pre-election field research, it argues that the BJP’s framing of the Sabarimala verdict, its use of religiously-coded campaign messaging, and its ability to adapt the form and style of campaign communication for the digital era enabled a sizable consolidation of the Hindu vote behind the BJP, moderately threatening the stability of Kerala’s entrenched bi-polar party system. Yet, the Sabarimala issue did not deliver the anticipated electoral results for the BJP due to Kerala’s unique political context. The residual effect of the Sabarimala issue in the 2021 legislative assembly election is discussed in conclusion.

TEMPORAL CONDENSATION OF TAMIL NEWS

Since the dawn of the Internet, we have been inundated with an excess of information. The volume of information available on the Internet is expected to grow exponentially. This brings a need for summarization of information. Thus, making summarization one of the most sought-after topics in the domain of natural language processing. It is essential to be informed about the vital happenings, and newspapers have been serving this purpose for a very long time. Sadly, there is a perception among the general public that no news agency today can be unequivocally trusted, the credibility of news articles is uncertain. Therefore, one has to read news articles from various sources to get an unbiased view on topic. When a query related to an event is entered in SEs like google, the search renders an overwhelming number of responses, it is humanly impossible to read all of them. In an effort to address the aforementioned problems, a condensation of news articles covering the Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly election is performed. The news articles were collected from various news sources over a period of two months. The collected articles were translated from Tamil to English. These articles included news about various events, in order to segregate Tamilnadu related news from them k-means clustering was performed on the dataset. The relvant news articles acquired was pre-processed to remove ambiguity and mistakes from translation. These articles were summarized individually using a linear regression model that gave importance to features such as named entities, number of words that were similar to title etc. The acquired individual summaries were summarized using BERT extractive summarizer as it would reduce redundancy. When generated summary was compared with introduction and title of the article in the absence of an introduction a precision of 0.512, recall of 0.25 and f-measure of 0.31 were obtained.

How Fear of Violence Drives Intergroup Conflict: Evidence from a Panel Survey in India

ABSTRACT Earlier research on ethnic and religious conflict has identified fear as an important motivation. While theoretically sound, this expectation has never been tested at larger scales in ongoing episodes of political violence. Instead, conceptual progress has been made in lab experiments. Combining insights from observational research and stylized experiments, we predict that fear for personal safety due to witnessed violence causes prejudice against out-groups, enhanced internal cohesion, and support for extremist actors. To test these predictions, we conducted surveys in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh with identical respondents in three waves starting in January 2017. The surveys continued during the tense Legislative Assembly elections in the Spring. The results largely corroborate the theoretical expectations and present a hard in-vivo test of long-standing conjectures.

A Brief Analysis of First Time Winners in Mizoram State Legislative Assembly Polls (2003 To 2018)

It is interesting to state that half of the elected MLAs (20 out of 40) in the 2018-Mizoram State Legislative Assembly election were the candidates who got victory in their first time. This paper analyses the first time winners of MLA candidates in Mizoram particularly from the Fifth to Eight State Legislative Assembly polls (2003 to 2018). It also analyses Mizoram Assembly elections and political parties in brief.

Topic Modeling as a Tool to Gauge Political Sentiments from Twitter Feeds

As ubiquitous as it is, the Internet has spawned a slew of products that have forever changed the way one thinks of society and politics. This article proposes a model to predict chances of a political party winning based on data collected from Twitter microblogging website, because it is the most popular microblogging platform in the world. Using unsupervised topic modeling and the NRC Emotion Lexicon, the authors demonstrate how it is possible to predict results by analyzing eight types of emotions expressed by users on Twitter. To prove the results based on empirical analysis, the authors examine the Twitter messages posted during 14th Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, 2017. Implementing two unsupervised clustering methods of K-means and Latent Dirichlet Allocation, this research shows how the proposed model is able to examine and summarize observations based on underlying semantic structures of messages posted on Twitter. These two well-known unsupervised clustering methods provide a firm base for the proposed model to enable streamlining of decision-making processes objectively.

Guinea‐Bissau: Legislative Assembly Election Results

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural SeriesVolume 56, Issue 3 p. 22220A-22220B Internal Developments Guinea-Bissau: Legislative Assembly Election Results First published: 11 April 2019 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-825X.2019.08766.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume56, Issue3April 2019Pages 22220A-22220B RelatedInformation

Demographics, Social Media Usage, and Political Engagement in Punjab

Digital media has played a vital role in mobilizing voters, especially youth in Western countries. Based on a survey conducted in Punjab among different age groups, the current study focused on influence of social media usage on political engagement during the 2017 Legislative Assembly Elections in Punjab, India. Regression analysis and other descriptive analysis were deployed in order to get the results, where the current study highlighted the change in political scenario due to utilization of social media in Punjab. On analyzing the data, social media was found to be the most frequently used source to get political information in the 2017 Legislative Assembly Elections. In fact, during the same period, getting news through newspapers and television were considered as other important sources. Further, social media usage for political purposes was found to have a significant positive influence on political engagement. The results of the study provided empirical evidence of online political engagement as well as contributed to the academic literature with reference to impact of social media usage on political engagement in the Indian context, which will help practitioners, political leaders, and parties in formulation of marketing strategies.