Overview

Why do poor people often vote against their material interests? This puzzle has been famously studied within wealthy Western democracies, yet the fact that the poor voter paradox also routinely manifests within poor countries has remained unexplored. This book studies how this paradox emerged in India, the world's largest democracy. Tariq Thachil shows how arguments from studies of wealthy democracies (such as moral values voting) and the global south (such as patronage or ethnic appeals) cannot explain why poor voters in poor countries support parties that represent elite policy interests. He instead draws on extensive survey data and fieldwork to document a novel strategy through which elite parties can recruit the poor, while retaining the rich. He shows how these parties can win over disadvantaged voters by privately providing them with basic social services via grassroots affiliates. Such outsourcing permits the party itself to continue to represent the policy interests of their privileged base.

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9781322293462

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This is a truly superb, important, and beautifully written book. Thachil uses the fascinating case of India's BJP to explore how elite parties try to recruit and mobilize poor voters. Besides shedding highly original empirical light on the most populous poor electorate on earth, Thachil offers a major contribution to a wide array of theoretical literatures, ranging from clientelism to religion to party organizations. Elite Parties, Poor Voters will deservedly attract a major audience in South Asian and comparative politics circles alike. Dan Slater, University of Chicago

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