Around the world, political parties often forge enduring bonds with their voters. This connection, known as partisanship, is a deep loyalty to one’s own party, which remains consistent over time and helps bring more stability to the democratic system. Most Western democracies are typically characterized by a high level of partisan support. In India, however, popular views often portray voters as fickle-minded— driven more by short-term benefits and patronage than by strong ideological beliefs. And since political parties in India tend to be weakly organized and mostly indistinguishable from one another, the notion of weaker ties between parties and voters has persisted.
Our study investigates whether close and loyal partisan attachment exists in India and what motivates this attachment. Drawing on a large field survey from the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, we show that voters are more inclined to feel close to a party when they are informed of a party’s ideological platform. Moreover, our findings show that voters who resonate with a party’s ideological positions tend to form more stable bonds with that party. In contrast, those whose support is based on personal, or community benefits display relatively less enduring loyalty. Recognizing that many voters are driven by deeper, ideological reasons offers a fresh perspective on the political landscape in India and opens avenues for future research on the subject. Link to article
Ankita Barthwal and Francesca R. Jensenius are at the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo