Voting and Development : A new strategy

Dr L Krishnamangol Singh
It is well known that in a democracy or in a democratic country, a voter chooses or elects a candidate of a political party at the time of election (election of any type) of the country or of any State. In fact, at the time of Parliamentary election (in short, know as MP Election for India), every citizen of the country/Nation has a big role or right to vote to elect the candidate of his or her choice according to his or her judgment. And this is the chance of voting for electing the “responsible candidate” (ie in the sense of having capacity/ability to do some benefits or more benefits for the country/Nation or for the State).
Keeping this background in mind, we may now briefly touch on certain aspects of “economic vote.” At the outset, it can be clarified that as the Parlia- mentary election is a justice over, our analysis/discussions will be based on theoretical framework and policy on the issues of “Economic Vote” relevant to any election.
In fact, voting behaviour is important in choosing or selecting the candidate. And the voting behavior is again determined by the development activities, ideologies, policy perspectives, political affiliation, performance of the Government/political party etc. of the candidate, It can also be pointed out that in the past “money” played a strong/key role in winning the election. But, there has been some changes in recent years. In fact, it is observed that in recent years programmes of socio economic changes and development have shaped the voting behaviour of the people/voters.
For example economic reforms introduced and implemented in the nineties during the Congress rule in India under the guidelines of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) yielded political success for the Congress party at the time of election. But due to many factors which are well known, the BJP came to power in 2014 when Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India. Thus, it is observed that in the present context of Manipur the voting behaviour of the people/voters is mostly determined by the efficiency or inefficiency of the Government and the varied development programmes launched/imple- mented by the Government or the State.
It is in this context that the term “economic vote” has relevance in the Indian and Manipur contexts. In fact, it is observed that there has been varied or enormous literature on the study of “economic vote” or economic voting literature. And the essence of the theory of economic vote basically implies the decision of vote or choice of a voter for a candidate by a voter in the context of the importance of economic or development performances of the Government or according to the preference function of the voter (ie the preference of the voter out of the given candidates). Also a voter’s behaviour is also determined by the electronic and print media. Again, his or her voting behaviour is determined by what is happening in the economy and society. It is also further well known that the law and order conditions have also shaped the voting behaviour of the public or any voter.
Thus, the economic vote attach much importance to the functioning of the economy or economic development of the country or the state. Here, it is interesting to note that there has been a large volume of literature on the study of “economic vote” or “economic voting.” While the former implies the behaviour of a voter and the importance attached to the vote in selecting the candidate out of the given candidates of the political party or in selecting an independent candidate, the latter implies the “act of voting” or the actual casting of vote for selecting or electing the candidate in support of the candidate or in support of the political party. Thus, the final outcome of the election will be known after actual economic voting and the counting of the vote. In short, economic vote is the decision to vote while economic voting is the actual casting or vote on the electronic selection of the candidate out of a given candidates of the political parties.
Thus, the voting behaviour of a voter may be changed before economic voting or actual casting of vote or pressing for selection of candidate in the electronic voting machine due to a number of factors such as strong campaign for the candidate (as per rules), development agenda or programmes reflected in the election manifesto of the political party, specific commitment of the candidate for the welfare of the people in addition to the development programmes of the political party already announced, changing ideologies of the political party etc. Thus, the political parties require a lot of research in the field of economic development and welfare of the people in order to convince the voters or the public about the various development programmes before the election.
At this stage, it can be pointed out that the concept of “economic vote” and “economics voting” are not new concepts and that the differences of the two terms are already well known among the political, public, intellectual, journalistic, legal and academic circles. And the two concepts or the political policies of the two conceptual theories are more popular in advanced or developed countries, However, it would be essential to briefly touch on the theories of economic vote and economic voting in order to achieve the goals of election or the success in election of the political parties.
Thus, it can be mentioned that the subject matter of economic vote and economic voting is drawn from various disciplines such as economics, political science, and other science and social science subjects. In fact, the study of economic vote and economic voting is interdisciplinary subject/discipline dealing with economic development issues and policies, political institutions, social institutions and issues, ideologies of political parties, international relation, national and state security etc., which condition or shape the election results or the success of the candidate of the parties in the election.
Thus, there has been a large volume of literature/studies mainly drawn from various discipline such as political science or the study of politics with development, economics etc., in recent years.
It is in this context that an attempt is made here to briefly bring out the idea of economic vote of the conceptual understanding of economic vote and its difference from that or economic voting. In fact, in reviewing the various studies on politics, economics and various standard journals dealing with democracy, economic and social issues etc., it is found that economic vote is different from the economic voting Here, it may be noted that it is professor Duch (Oxford University) and Stevenson (Rice University, Houston, Texas), who have widely popularized the concept of economic vote and economic voting. And these two concepts are essential in understanding the voting behaviour of the voters. It is found that economic vote relates to the behaviour of the voter who determines the “preference function” (i.e. choice for the candidate) out of a number of candidates on the basis of the performance of the economy and society.
Thus, in this concept of economic vote which may be conceptualized as “development vote” there is no for corruption. In fact, the economic vote of the voter supports the candidate or the party on the basis of the economic evaluation/performance or on the basis of the voter’s preference for the candidate on the party that the representative or the political party is expected to fulfil in the interest of the people and the country. And the voting behaviour of the different voters varied across candidates or across the manifestoes of the political parties in a significant manner. Thus, the theory of economic vote suggests that the voters would exercise their votes for the candidate in order to elect the candidate in the election results. In fact, the theory of economic vote is highly complicated.
However, it can be briefly pointed out that the voter will vote for the party or candidate with the highest “value” of the candidate (importance of the candidate for the public out of the alternative candidates) And the individual choices the candidate according to his/her assessment of the candidate And the voter also takes the decision on the basis of larger perception of the people and the party, and the reality of any situation that serves the interest of the whole society and polity. In fact, the voter believes that the perception of the individual or the individual ideology model can be adjusted with the general ideology of the party to which he/she belongs. The voter also believes that the candidate would take his/her decision on the basis of wide “public research opinion” in order to promote development of the economy and the people with dignity and social justice. Thus, the voter has secretly in his or her mind that mere propaganda on any issue cannot influence the candidate’s decision. Indeed, economic vote requires wide public opinion research and the voter would take his or her decision of vote based on the findings of the public opinion research.
We may now turn our discussion on the conceptual understanding of ‘Economic Voting ’ and compare its similarity or otherwise from that of economic vote.
In discussing the economic vote and economic voting, it can be pointed out that elections are held as referenda (a general vote by the electorate on a single ‘political question’ for a direct decision on electing a representative), which is related to the economy or the situation of the country’s economy. In fact, in a country’s or state’s election, a voter chooses a candidate for a political position representing the people or peoples. Here, it may quickly be clarified that election is not merely held for the purpose of the economy or economics development and other purposes, which are already well known to all. In fact, in a democracy, elections are usually held for the purpose of preserving sovereignty of the country, formation of a new government, promoting democracy and achieving ‘welfare’ (i.e. in economics, promoting welfare means one man’s welfare should not affect others) accelerating overall economic growth and economic development of the country including the states among others.
Here, without going into the details of the process of election, which is not the purpose of the present short article, it is proposed to single out the conceptual and theoretical understanding of economic vote and economic voting. As already noted economic vote is the decision taken by voter for electing a representative or a candidate according to the preference function of the voter from among the given candidates. And the voter’s choice is also basically based on the situation of the real economy. Thus, in economic vote, the success of the candidate mainly depends on the function of the real economy.
In fact, the candidate or the party should understand many critical issues such as reflecting deterioration of the economy or economic development in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), worsening per capita income of the people, unequal income distribution, existence of poverty and unemployment, environmental degradation and loss of common property resourced (CPRs), absence of avenues or opportunities for the participation of the people in development, lack of economic policies to cater to the needs of the modern economic growth and development, ‘rising expectation of revolution’ (Jagadish Bhagawati) without any proper basis and justification, slogan of retrogradation movement without knowing the socio-economic system and development, the evolution of family institutions in the historical contexts of the society, differences between human creatures and human beings (ie in the framework of Federic Engel’s origin of family), the difference between the genesis of tribes (now tribals) and non-tribals after (To be contd)