The intensifying fusion of political and economic power in India is discussed. Employing data on ... more The intensifying fusion of political and economic power in India is discussed. Employing data on the wealth and background of politicians, it is shown that over the last 20 years, India’s politicians have not only become much wealthier but also more commonly have a business background. The term “oligarchisation” is proposed for this trend and employing fieldwork on the 2024 assembly elections conducted in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh simultaneously with the parliamentary elections, two key drivers of this process are identified.
The Hindu; The Times of India; The Indian Express, 2024
This is a compilation of some opinion articles and explainer articles based on extensive fieldwor... more This is a compilation of some opinion articles and explainer articles based on extensive fieldwork in the Assembly election campaigns of Maharashtra in 2024. These articles help in explaining the context, complex issues and distinctive features of Maharashtra politics based on extensive on-ground interviews and analysis of past electoral data.
Have the votes of the Nishad community, a group under the Extremely Backward Castes, shifted from... more Have the votes of the Nishad community, a group under the Extremely Backward Castes, shifted from the National Democratic Alliance to the INDIA alliance? How does their political consolidation di er in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh?
Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research... more Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research to understand the results and trends in politics. In this research case study, I use ethnography as a method to explore and analyze clientelistic politics in the context of elections. Through comparative ethnographic approach, I try to explore the changing forms of clientelistic politics in India. Through extensive fieldwork in two regions, I try to compare the similarities and differences in the evolution of clientelistic politics in India. I use various research tools like interviews, open-ended discussions, participant observations, shadowing candidates, and local-level leaders to explore the complex narrative of clientelistic vote mobilization lurking in the informal stretches of election campaigns. Through this research methods case, I explain and justify the need for using comparative ethnography as a method best suited for systematically studying clientelistic politics in India.
This is a review essay to capture the role of Election Commission in building India's robust demo... more This is a review essay to capture the role of Election Commission in building India's robust democracy over several decades of free and fair elections and the essay also talks about the transformations and changes that Election Commission has undergone over the years from an institutional perspective. The essay is based on the review of the book, titled, 'Great March of Democracy: Seven decades of Indian elections' edited by former Chief Election Commissioner, S. Y. Quraishi.
The story of the Vikassheel Insaan Party or VIP, a party of the Nishad community in Bihar, is imp... more The story of the Vikassheel Insaan Party or VIP, a party of the Nishad community in Bihar, is important for understanding the positives and negatives of the rise of small caste-based political parties whose only agenda is reservation and representation.
Faced with unresponsive and intimidating state institutions, citizens often need to rely on broke... more Faced with unresponsive and intimidating state institutions, citizens often need to rely on brokers to obtain state benefits. This article compares the ways in which brokers help people gain access to public services in two Indian states. Using ethnographic fieldwork in both states, we compare Bihar and Gujarat to argue that the evolution of the informal networks through which citizens gain access to public services constitutes an important dimension of democratisation processes. In both Gujarat and Bihar such brokerage networks have fragmented considerably over the last 40 years, while also becoming less marked by social hierarchies. This change has taken place despite a differing role and strength of political parties in the two states. The fragmentation and levelling of brokerage networks have enabled citizens to put more pressure on state institutions and power holders. This process of “informal democratisation” suggests that the comparative study of brokerage networks constitutes a promising and largely unexplored avenue to interpret the challenges facing governance and local democracy in India.
Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research... more Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research to understand the results and trends in politics. In this research case study, I use ethnography as a method to explore and analyze clientelistic politics in the context of elections. Through comparative ethnographic approach, I try to explore the changing forms of clientelistic politics in India. Through extensive fieldwork in two regions, I try to compare the similarities and differences in the evolution of clientelistic politics in India. I use various research tools like interviews, open-ended discussions, participant observations, shadowing candidates, and local-level leaders to explore the complex narrative of clientelistic vote mobilization lurking in the informal stretches of election campaigns. Through this research methods case, I explain and justify the need for using comparative ethnography as a method best suited for systematically studying clientelistic politics in India.
This paper describes the nature of the election campaign that was carried out during the election... more This paper describes the nature of the election campaign that was carried out during the election to the Bihar Assembly in 2014. Based on extensive ethnographic studies on the field and shadowing the candidates during different stages of the campaign, this papers brings out some first hand exploration into the important role played by campaigns in elections.
The intensifying fusion of political and economic power in India is discussed. Employing data on ... more The intensifying fusion of political and economic power in India is discussed. Employing data on the wealth and background of politicians, it is shown that over the last 20 years, India’s politicians have not only become much wealthier but also more commonly have a business background. The term “oligarchisation” is proposed for this trend and employing fieldwork on the 2024 assembly elections conducted in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh simultaneously with the parliamentary elections, two key drivers of this process are identified.
The Hindu; The Times of India; The Indian Express, 2024
This is a compilation of some opinion articles and explainer articles based on extensive fieldwor... more This is a compilation of some opinion articles and explainer articles based on extensive fieldwork in the Assembly election campaigns of Maharashtra in 2024. These articles help in explaining the context, complex issues and distinctive features of Maharashtra politics based on extensive on-ground interviews and analysis of past electoral data.
Have the votes of the Nishad community, a group under the Extremely Backward Castes, shifted from... more Have the votes of the Nishad community, a group under the Extremely Backward Castes, shifted from the National Democratic Alliance to the INDIA alliance? How does their political consolidation di er in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh?
Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research... more Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research to understand the results and trends in politics. In this research case study, I use ethnography as a method to explore and analyze clientelistic politics in the context of elections. Through comparative ethnographic approach, I try to explore the changing forms of clientelistic politics in India. Through extensive fieldwork in two regions, I try to compare the similarities and differences in the evolution of clientelistic politics in India. I use various research tools like interviews, open-ended discussions, participant observations, shadowing candidates, and local-level leaders to explore the complex narrative of clientelistic vote mobilization lurking in the informal stretches of election campaigns. Through this research methods case, I explain and justify the need for using comparative ethnography as a method best suited for systematically studying clientelistic politics in India.
This is a review essay to capture the role of Election Commission in building India's robust demo... more This is a review essay to capture the role of Election Commission in building India's robust democracy over several decades of free and fair elections and the essay also talks about the transformations and changes that Election Commission has undergone over the years from an institutional perspective. The essay is based on the review of the book, titled, 'Great March of Democracy: Seven decades of Indian elections' edited by former Chief Election Commissioner, S. Y. Quraishi.
The story of the Vikassheel Insaan Party or VIP, a party of the Nishad community in Bihar, is imp... more The story of the Vikassheel Insaan Party or VIP, a party of the Nishad community in Bihar, is important for understanding the positives and negatives of the rise of small caste-based political parties whose only agenda is reservation and representation.
Faced with unresponsive and intimidating state institutions, citizens often need to rely on broke... more Faced with unresponsive and intimidating state institutions, citizens often need to rely on brokers to obtain state benefits. This article compares the ways in which brokers help people gain access to public services in two Indian states. Using ethnographic fieldwork in both states, we compare Bihar and Gujarat to argue that the evolution of the informal networks through which citizens gain access to public services constitutes an important dimension of democratisation processes. In both Gujarat and Bihar such brokerage networks have fragmented considerably over the last 40 years, while also becoming less marked by social hierarchies. This change has taken place despite a differing role and strength of political parties in the two states. The fragmentation and levelling of brokerage networks have enabled citizens to put more pressure on state institutions and power holders. This process of “informal democratisation” suggests that the comparative study of brokerage networks constitutes a promising and largely unexplored avenue to interpret the challenges facing governance and local democracy in India.
Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research... more Studies on elections and voting behavior in India usually focus on statistics and survey research to understand the results and trends in politics. In this research case study, I use ethnography as a method to explore and analyze clientelistic politics in the context of elections. Through comparative ethnographic approach, I try to explore the changing forms of clientelistic politics in India. Through extensive fieldwork in two regions, I try to compare the similarities and differences in the evolution of clientelistic politics in India. I use various research tools like interviews, open-ended discussions, participant observations, shadowing candidates, and local-level leaders to explore the complex narrative of clientelistic vote mobilization lurking in the informal stretches of election campaigns. Through this research methods case, I explain and justify the need for using comparative ethnography as a method best suited for systematically studying clientelistic politics in India.
This paper describes the nature of the election campaign that was carried out during the election... more This paper describes the nature of the election campaign that was carried out during the election to the Bihar Assembly in 2014. Based on extensive ethnographic studies on the field and shadowing the candidates during different stages of the campaign, this papers brings out some first hand exploration into the important role played by campaigns in elections.
Review of the book Rethinking Public Institutions in India, edited by Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Devesh ... more Review of the book Rethinking Public Institutions in India, edited by Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav.
Review of the book titled, 'Post-Mandal politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns' by Sanjay... more Review of the book titled, 'Post-Mandal politics in Bihar: Changing Electoral Patterns' by Sanjay Kumar. This book covers a very contemporary electoral history of Bihar covering the most interesting decades of state politics in India - post 1990s.
A review of a very interesting book on the topic of Criminality in Indian Politics - exploring th... more A review of a very interesting book on the topic of Criminality in Indian Politics - exploring the growing prevalence of money and muscle power in Indian politics
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Papers by Sarthak Bagchi
understanding the positives and negatives of the rise of small caste-based political parties whose only agenda is
reservation and representation.
understand the results and trends in politics. In this research case study, I use ethnography as a method
to explore and analyze clientelistic politics in the context of elections. Through comparative ethnographic
approach, I try to explore the changing forms of clientelistic politics in India. Through extensive fieldwork in
two regions, I try to compare the similarities and differences in the evolution of clientelistic politics in India.
I use various research tools like interviews, open-ended discussions, participant observations, shadowing
candidates, and local-level leaders to explore the complex narrative of clientelistic vote mobilization lurking
in the informal stretches of election campaigns. Through this research methods case, I explain and justify
the need for using comparative ethnography as a method best suited for systematically studying clientelistic
politics in India.
understanding the positives and negatives of the rise of small caste-based political parties whose only agenda is
reservation and representation.
understand the results and trends in politics. In this research case study, I use ethnography as a method
to explore and analyze clientelistic politics in the context of elections. Through comparative ethnographic
approach, I try to explore the changing forms of clientelistic politics in India. Through extensive fieldwork in
two regions, I try to compare the similarities and differences in the evolution of clientelistic politics in India.
I use various research tools like interviews, open-ended discussions, participant observations, shadowing
candidates, and local-level leaders to explore the complex narrative of clientelistic vote mobilization lurking
in the informal stretches of election campaigns. Through this research methods case, I explain and justify
the need for using comparative ethnography as a method best suited for systematically studying clientelistic
politics in India.