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Context:
- There is a widely held belief that voters in India, especially the poor, sell their votes in exchange for cash or other briberies.
- Thus, the supply of cash and consumption of liquor increases during elections remains unexplained.
What does recent research says about briberies during election?
- Recent research says that spending of money was not reflected in the vote count.
- The candidate who spent the most came nowhere near winning the seat, while the candidate who won a landslide victory did so with limited spending.
- Thus, distribution of money is seen as an uncertain investment and a leap of faith on the part of the candidate.
What is the reason behind such briberies in India?
Cash to support a campaign:
- Parties have weak organisations at the local level and face heavy institutional constraints.
- Thus, money acts as a substitute for the organisation as cash is used to engage vote mobilisers or local individuals who will seek votes for a party and/or candidate.
A cheaper move:
- Given the size of constituencies, a candidate requires an army of workers during the campaign period which ends up being quite expensive.
- To avoid this, candidates spend huge sums of money on cash, liquor and gifts that they hand out to their middlemen.
Money signals access to powerful networks:
- Money allows candidates to mobilize supporters who in turn can pull a crowd together.
- The display of money during elections is socially approved in certain ways, is a political necessity, and is born of cultural expectations.
