Lok Sabha Elections 2014


From the Daksh - India Together Data Journalism Fellows:





The many nails in the UPA coffin

How strong was the Modi wave? Did recent state elections impact voter choice in parliamentary elections? Did better performing MPs necessarily augur well for their parties in the respective constituencies? A statistical analysis by Srinivasan Ramani finds interesting linkages between these and the UPA drubbing.

Corruption: Do we really care?

Did corruption as an issue only create noise, or did it really impact voter choice in the 16th Lok Sabha elections? Prabhu Mallikarjunan finds that the answer may not be very straighforward or simple.

Voices Modi and Kejriwal must listen to, beyond the noise

Days before the much-hyped showdown between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi, Prabhu Mallikarjunan pays a visit to the holy city to know more about the loyalties and concerns of people on the ground.

The message from voters in 2014

Combining provisional voter turnout data and the perceptions of MP performance based on the Daksh-ADR survey, Srinivasan Ramani attempts to make reasonable assessments about what could be behind high turnouts in this Lok Sabha elections.

What sways the urban voter?

Gujarat bucks the urban trend when it comes to identity voting, while cities in the prosperous northern states place high emphasis on choice of MP candidate. Srinivasan Ramani discovers several interesting facts on urban choice, through GIS mapping of data obtained from a voter perception survey.


India's "third gender" enters poll fray with new hope

In a first, the Lok Sabha Election this year has at least four candidates from the transgender community, traditionally one of the most under-represented groups in the electorate as well as political leadership. Prabhu Mallikarjunan looks at their participation this year, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.


Women MPs: At par, but rare still

Mainstream political parties do not give sufficient opportunity to women so that their representation has remained poor even in states with higher literacy rates. The electorate, however views them as equal performers as men, as the recent Daksh-ADR survey has shown. Prabhu Mallikarjunan presents some interesting findings on the issue.


Not just one party or the other!

Mainstream media may play up the parliamentary contest as a battle of Goliaths, but statistical analysis reveals the true diversity in the Indian party system and the inevitability of coalitions. Srinivasan Ramani brings us the real picture.




About The Daksh-India Together Elections Journalism Fellowship

The Daksh-India Together Elections Journalism Fellowship is being offered jointly by Daksh, a Bangalore-based not-for-profit organization which has been working to improve accountability in politics and governance, and India Together. Fellows bring you the real, objective stories and issues behind the elections, based on data from Daksh and other open sources.

Daksh has conducted an extensive on-field survey covering 2.5 lakh people in 100,000 locations across 500 parliamentary constituencies. Respondents were asked to rate several issues according to the range of importance and their leaders according to their performance in these issues.


OUR FELLOWS

Srinivasan Ramani is a scholar of comparative politics and political thought and a senior journalist with years of editorial and writing experience. He is currently the Senior Assistant Editor with Economic and Political Weekly. Follow his reportage on India Together.



Prabhu Mallikarjunan is a Bangalore-based journalist with extensive experience covering public affairs and rural development issues. Until recently, he was working as a Senior Staff Correspondent for the The New Indian Express, Karwar.

News and Analysis


What the Modi juggernaut entails

The sweeping mandate in favour of the BJP under Narendra Modi was largely an outcome of the articulation of his idea of development, popularised as the “Gujarat Model.” But what could the defining features of such a model be? Leo F Saldanha elaborates.

Can farmers look ahead to “acche din” as well?

Narendra Modi’s attention to the woes and plight of farmers during election campaigning has raised a lot of hope for improvement among members of the beleaguered community, but can he deliver? Devinder Sharma presents an 11-point prescription for turning the agricultural sector around.

The AAP phenomenon: Too early for an epitaph

The results of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections apparently point to an abysmal failure of new politics as championed by the Aam Aadmi Party, but a deeper look by Himanshu Upadhyaya suggests all may not be over just as yet.

Penalties rare for Togadias and Masoods, but mileage aplenty

The fierce political campaigns around the 2014 general elections have seen rampant communal rhetoric and instances of hate speech by followers of all camps. Tanvi Bhatikar digs deeper into hate speech law and judicial proceedings in India with a comparison to UK and Europe.

Why voters in Telangana are still puzzled

Days before Telangana goes to polls, Venugopalrao Nellutla examines the lack of exuberance and the dilemmas among people in the region, even as they look ahead to statehood and their own government in weeks from now.

Can educated MPs do more for education?

Basic education and subsequent employment opportunities are issues that India has continued to grapple with even during periods of reasonable growth. Could highly educated parliamentarians necessarily drive these forward? Tanvi Bhatikar analyses findings of a recent voters' survey in search of an answer.

Why I will not fall for the 'vote for PM' trick

As India votes in the midst of a rising campaign crescendo that pits one individual against the other, Subramaniam Vincent urges the electorate to prioritise a 'better parliament.

What they say about the things that really matter

Responsible governance, economic security for the maximum numbers and ecological sustainability are the three key challenges facing the country today. Ashish Kothari deconstructs the Congress, BJP and AAP manifestos to see what these parties promise on these fronts.

How parties are wooing the young voter

The 2014 elections will go down as one of the most exciting in the history of the Indian democracy and the huge number of voters among the youth could well emerge to be the real game-changers. Tanvi Bhatikar looks at the manifestos of the three main parties to see what they have to lure young voters.

Will the Western Ghats decide Kerala's mandate?

The controversy over the Gadgil and Kasturirangan reports on ecological preservation in the Western Ghats has brought about a churn in politics in Kerala. P N Venugopal wonders if this will determine the decisions of the electorate in the Lok Sabha elections.

Who will spare a thought for the environment?

With the manifestos of all major national parties finally released, Himanshu Thakkar presents a comparative reading with a lens on environment and natural resource management.

Could Modi be a development disaster?

If the cost of ecological damage and social deprivation are accounted for, Narendra Modi will only be half as tall as he is made out to be, says Ashish Kothari, issuing a grave warning.

The not-so-glittering stars in Parliament

As parties firm up their candidates in various constituencies, several celebrity names - new and old - are doing the rounds yet again. Shoma Chatterji looks at a few examples from the years gone by to question what we may really expect from these star-turned-politicians.

NaMo RaGa brandwar drowns  out Assam’s cries

The ruling government has seen limited success in some areas, but the state's lingering needs seem to have been forgotten in the war of personalities ahead of the looming parliamentary elections. Ratna Bharali Talukdar has more.

Mr. Leader, I have a question...

As the rhetoric among political parties over their commitment and promises to the people rises, Shankar Jaganathan articulates that one question that will test what they truly stand for.

What has your MP done for you?

As elections draw nearer, it is more important than ever to understand the way the Lok Sabha functions and what our Members of Parliament are expected to do. Only then can we assess their performance and who may be the best choice, writes R Balasubramaniam.

Rating our MPs: A few ground truths

What should be the yardstick of performance for our leaders in the Lok Sabha? Should they be held accountable for issues of governance in their local constituencies, or their legislative record in parliament? Kishore Mandyam explains his stance.