Indian Politics & Policy Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2020 | Page 39

Do Issues Matter in Indian Elections?
After the emergency imposed by
Mrs. Gandhi in 1975, the elections of
the late 1970s were clouded by the “ending
of emergency” by the opposition
parties, whereas Congress remained
committed to justifying it. 15 It was clear
where the national mood lay, although
the opposition parties could not hold
the fort for very long, and national elections
had to take place again in 1980. It
is also widely acknowledged that Mrs.
Gandhi’s assassination brought the
sympathy vote to Congress in 1984. 16
The elections in 1996 were supposed
to be on the issue of liberalization,
privatization and globalization
(LPG) due to the economic reforms
introduced in 1991. In opposition to
this, the incumbent government deliberately
ignored the issue of economic
reform and instead professed the idea
of political stability. The opposition
parties viewed corruption as an important
election issue to raise for their support.
17 Evidently, one of the biggest economic
reforms in post-independence
India did not become an election issue
in the subsequent general elections because
the incumbent and opposition
parties thought of economic reforms as
non-substantial that could be beneficial
electorally.
The promise of a stable government
at the center became the prominent
electoral issue across all political
parties in the late 1990s. The BJP’s campaign
slogan was “a stable party and an
able leader,” with a commitment to provide
good governance. 18 Kapur notices
that the Kargil victory did not play a
significant role in the voters’ decisions,
despite its deep social resonance. 19 Neither
did the BJP’s attempts to play up
Sonia Gandhi as being a naturalized
“foreigner” pay off as a vote catcher in
the 2004 elections.
In the 2004 general elections,
the BJP, after running a coalition government
at the center and successfully
completing the term, was confident
of its performance, and contested the
election on its overall economic performance.
The “India Shining” campaign
of the party was a reflection of
its conviction of winning the election.
Hence “the decision of the BJP to contest
the forthcoming general election
by piggybacking on the reform-driven
economic boom assumed considerable
significance.” 20 For the very first time,
the general election was contested on
economic issues, which was evident
from the speeches during election rallies.
However, the campaign failed to
bring in votes for the incumbent party.
Since the 1996 general election,
a primary survey has been conducted
by the CSDS, the NES, in order to understand
the mood and behavior of Indian
voters. With the help of this data,
a few studies highlight how important
the issues have been during elections,
and how they affect their voting behavior.
21 For example, Suri finds that the
“perceptions of the people on economic
issues (such as liberalization, privatization
etc.), do matter in deciding
whom they vote for.” 22 He further states
that one “implication of these findings
is that political parties cannot afford to
be indifferent to the economic perceptions
of voters.”
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