The Impact of Urbanization on the Electoral Results of the 2014 Indian Elections: With Special Reference to the BJP Vote
| Author | Christophe Jaffrelot,Sanjay Kumar |
| DOI | 10.1177/2321023015575212 |
| Published date | 01 June 2015 |
| Date | 01 June 2015 |
| Subject Matter | India’s 2014 Elections |
India’s 2014 Elections
The Impact of Urbanization
on the Electoral Results of the 2014
Indian Elections: With Special
Reference to the BJP Vote
Christophe Jaffrelot1
Sanjay Kumar2
Abstract
During the 16th Lok Sabha elections, the BJP achieved unprecedented successes in rural as well as urban
constituencies. Its progress has resulted from its growing popularity among almost every social group,
its expansion being significant beyond its core supporters cutting across various classes, castes and
communities—except the Muslims. While it remained more popular in the urban constituencies, the BJP
has therefore largely blurred the traditional urban–rural divide. But this distinction has not been totally
neutralized, as is evident from regional and social variations which need to be explained. The impact of
the rural–urban divide remained particularly strong in UP, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka where
the village dwellers voted significantly less for the BJP than the urban citizens. These variations mostly
stem from the new attraction for the BJP among OBCs and, to a lesser extent, Dalits residing in urban
settings. Their rallying around the BJP probably reflects their joining of the ‘neo-middle class’, which
identified more closely with Narendra Modi’s development agenda. Urbanization has also favoured the
BJP as the crucible of communal polarization, a process which explains that the more urban they are,
the more inclined to vote Congress the Muslims are, whatever their caste or class.
Keywords
Urbanization, Indian 2014 general elections, BJP, Narendra Modi, ‘rurbanization’
Introduction
India’s transition from an overwhelmingly rural society to a more urbanized setting is accelerating.
Officially, according to the 2011 Census, urban dwellers represent 31 per cent of the population, but the
1 CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS and King’s India Institute—KCL, London, United Kingdom.
2 Professor and Director, CSDS, Delhi.
Studies in Indian Politics
3(1) 39–49
© 2015 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2321023015575212
http://inp.sagepub.com
Corresponding author:
Christophe Jaffrelot, CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS and King’s India Institute—KCL, London, United Kingdom.
Email: jaffrelot@orange.fr.
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