Meaning Of Voting Behaviour Politics Essay

Meaning Of right to vote Behaviour Politics canvassHuman actions, such as vote in a elective pick, argon extremely decomposable phenomenon and depend on a variety of social and psychological factors. Voting in resources is the most self-evident and direct way in which a whole population can affect establishment, sort of sens revolution.2Voting is the most distinguishing imperative stuff that a citizen can do to make sure that the government operates in the way it is in extended and guaranteed that their semi policy-making way of life ar heard by the countrys political system. Therefore, it is the main form of political participation in liberal democratic societies and the charter of suffrage deportment is a highly specialized sub-field within political science. Voting has become virtu ally a general means by which individuals make collective decisions.3Meaning of Voting BehaviourThe word ballot is non a new concept. In antique Greece, voting was non much for elect ions to offices, which were packed on the control panel principles of arbitrary selection. But it was use for decisions on propositions put before democratic accumulation, on the fate of individuals.4In contemporary democratic arrangement, voting is a method of expressing the approval or disapproval of the policies, programmes and decisions of the administrative authority. Quoting Oriavwote, (2000), S.K. Balogun and P.O. Olapegba writesVoting thus, is a means of aggregating individual preferences into collective decision in an election, the action of formally indicating match slights choice of campaigner or political comp some(prenominal) at an election.5Voting is the pedestal of the political pyramid in democracy, and that decisions make at the foundation become the capability to overthrow those at the top. For this reason, voting whitethorn perhaps be looked upon as the basic decision-making put to work in a democracy.6It may also describe the process either by which citizen s choose nominees for semipublic office or the formal recording of opinion of a throng on every subject. In either sense, it is a means of transforming numerous individual opinions into a reproducible and collective basis for decision. Voters tend to choose views whom they perceived as benefiting them the most and as having a sound chance of winning.7That is, voting is a good example of rational choice,8as larger part of the electorate way outs their voting preference on the establishment of a judgment of how the present government or the incumbent has enlarged the welf be of the stack, and the odds that the contrasting camp would accomplish better.The depicted object of voting deportment started around the eighteenth century (Jenson, 1969), this early attempts made use of aggregate data analysis that is, using actual election returns by geopolitical units e.g., wards, districts etc. (Gosnell, 1930).9Of late, voting deportment has used to describe, as Samuel J. Eldersvel d writes, certain bea of study and shells of political phenomena which previously had either not been conceived or were considered irrelevant. It involves an analysis of individual psychological processes (perception, emotion and motivation) and their apprisal to political actions, as well as institutional patterns, such as the communication process and their furbish up on elections.10As V.O. Key, Jr., and Frank Munger give way back observed, most voting behaviour of the time is a go on affirmation of pre-existing political commitments which were forged to a lower place(a) the pressure of a study social trauma. Looked at in terms of the companionship system as a whole, this profound link develop with the past oft amounts to a standing decision which is totally very infrequently subject to review by any decisively large part of the electorate.11In short, voting behaviour of the populace determines political power in any political system on divers(prenominal) scales sign ifying the intensity of political involvement. Even if mess are not aware of a mortalal involvement in the electoral decision, they may still be induced to vote by social pressures and inner feelings of social obligation.12Voting behaviour refers to factors that determine the path in which a particular group of people vote for a specific political political party or candidates that are up for elections. Therefore, voting behaviour as N.G.S. Kini, sums up can be regarded as13(a) a mode of legitimizing democratic rule (b) instancing participation in the political process involving integration into the political community (c) instancing an act of decision-making (d) a role-action involving definite political orientation imbedded in a particular type of political culture or (e) a direct relation of the individual citizens to the formal government.14In fine, the purpose of voting behaviour implies the study of voters preferences, alternative, programmes, ideology, etc., on which ele ctions are fought. Among other things, voting behaviour helps to arrive to a decision which official are chosen to run our governments, the multiplicity of parties that voters have to choose from at the polls, how many a(prenominal) citizens will turn out to vote, who will or will not be represented in our legislatures, and whether the studyity will rule. It has a thoughtful consequence not yet on the process of elections, simply also on the degree to which a political system is fair, representative, and democratic. Therefore, it lies at the heart of democratic process and are an expression of popular will.Factors affecting Voting BehaviourVoting behaviour is rather a complex and multi-faceted subject. Diverse factors that comprise both political and non-political have an effect on it. Its determinants are colossal and wide-ranging, and differ from one person to another to a substantial degree. Voting behaviour is determined by the political attitudes, assumptions, policy prefe rences, and partisan loyalties of individuals and the political and institutional context within which they cast their votes in an election.15Thus, in that respect are a numbers of indicators affecting voters choice as one of the early pioneers of electoral studies in India, V.M. Sirsikar, observes, an enquiry into the process of election indicates factors other than rationality.16. The assessment of voting pattern consistently focuses on the determinants of wherefore people vote as they do and how they arrive at the decisions they make. Most attention has been, however, to the behaviour of the plug electorate.17A variety of research on the study of voting behaviour has identified two major types of factors, which can be broadly categorized as sociological (demographic, social, and sparing attributes) and psychological (politically relevant attitudes, beliefs and values).18The relative political science literature recognizes that certain variables such as education19income and unemployment20importance of party stand out or attachment21perception of issues22ideology and issues23partisanship24evaluation of leaders or the top candidates25etc., have generally been found to associate with voting behaviour of the electorate. Some of the selected predicators of voting behaviour for this study are analyzed as followsSociological factorsGender The analysis of sex is an important indicator of voting behaviour. Women voters tend to be more than curvering about their intention to vote as also in the voting act itself than the male voters.26However, the commitment is more to candidate then to party both to males and females. Vill board consensus and advice of hamlet headman work more with female voters than with male voters, while the merit of the candidates attracts more males than females.27Sex provides a base for diversity where modernism is a significant issue, since in most societies womens role are more involved in religious institutions and less in modern frugal ones. Consequently, where there is a dispute between the voting pattern of the two sexes, women tend to support traditionalist parties more than modernising ones.28Nonetheless, since the focus of the study is on a relatively traditionalistic attitude where grammatical gender issues still predominates,29it seemed good to retain gender as a determinant of voting behaviour.Kinship Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological or cultural, or historical descent.30In a kinship based society, kinship provides many of the social relations in which a person is liable(predicate) to be involved in the course of his life.31It is a strategy force determining political behaviour of the people and influencing their thought process.32Strong kinship and village loyalties affect many a choice, the family or the wife voting as father or husband suggests, and the village casting its vote fit to the advice of the head-man or influe ntial elder.33Despite the traditional claim that individually voter is an individual who makes up his confess mind, social groups pressures limit choices sharply, and are highly significant determinants of individual voting patterns.34Kins and clan would, of course, be used to campaign for one or the other candidate and votes would be sought by identifying a candidate as a peasant, a worker and the like.35Age Age has often been described as one of the leading indicators of voting behaviour, though it is difficult to treat as an independent variable. As Alan R. Ball has pointed out, age is a complex variable. In common parlance, older citizens tend to vote for conservative parties but this may be simple reflections of the historical period when the electors voting habits were being formed. Age may be less important than the strength of the voters attachment to a political party, and it is this allegiance that hardens with age.36However the relationship between age and voting is cur vilinear, with a gradual increasing in the mid-age group and declining thereafter. nonetheless, it is the candidate orientation which dominates in all the age groups.37Education Over the geezerhood, education has emerged as one of the major predicators of voting. Educations widen the political visualisation and expands the horizon of ones interest in the political process. It enables the individual to develop the skill for political participation.38The electorate having more years of formal education has the greater probability of exercising their franchise in any election.Economic Factors The economic status of the electorate is an important indicator of voting behaviour. Though it is often considered as non-existent impact on voting, economic factors play an important role in shaping voting behaviour of the electorate as Arivind Virmani points outAn profit (or) worsening of economic conditions can increase (or) decrease the probability of voting for the party perceived to be a ccountable for the change. Further, the independent or floating voter is more likely to be affected by economic conditions than voters committed to a particular party for social, coterie, religious and cultural reasons.39 However, as Wolfinger and Rosenstones findings indicated, the likelihood of voting may not be a linear function of income.40The key difference seems to be the tart variation among those of high-income groups and low-income groups. The most distinguishing factors in election are vote bribing which is open-secret which reflect a clash between traditional economic ties and changing cultural pressure.41Poor voters are reported to have received property offered by various candidates.Public Employment Along with education and economic status, occupation appears to exert a great effect on voting behaviour. Public officials tend to take greater interest in voting and are usually votes for the party which is likely to address their interest. Even farmers, who are convent ionally viewed as being uncommonly likely to abstain from voting,42have become much less distinctive in this regard.43Studies have also revealed that government workers of all types tend to take an unusual interest in political matters and are unlikely to vote in the election.44Psychological FactorsInterest in Public Affairs Those voters who have interest in public affairs and who follows the news of the present day situation are likely voters in any election. This is because of the fact that such voters are very much concern with the affairs of states policies and programme. On the contrary, there are some who take minimal interest in such affairs and are unlikely voters. Many voters made explicit references to specific issue concerns, whereas others spoke in more globose terms about parties, leaders or local candidates without elaborating their reasoning in any detail.45Strength and centering of Party loyalty Voting behaviour is more easily explained by emphasising party loyalty .46Some party men are likely to vote in elections than others as different parties may draw their members from different social base which reflects the weakness and the strength of the party. However, in India, people do not hesitate to charge their votes from one party to another as parties identities are not very strong. If party loyalty is taken as one of the key indexes of political considerations, it may be assumed that the parties play a borderline role in determining the preference of the voters.47Though party loyalty is an important indicator of voting behaviour, it is often determined by other factors like social word form, economic position or heathen affiliation.48Perceived difference between Parties In any election, if there is a clear-cut difference of ideologies between the contesting parties, the electorates are more likely to exercise their franchise. If the parties and the candidates are kindred and not easy to distinguish from each other, then there will be a little point in electoral participation. As Habib and Naidu (2006) observesConventional wisdom suggests that workers and poorer classes in society would support parties to the left of the political spectrum, while the middle class and more affluent strata would support parties on the right. The reasons are obvious. While the former have a solid interest in fundamentally changing the political and socio-economic arrangements of society, the latter prefer the status quo.49Recent research, however, has focusuate party de-alignment.50Ideology could be said to be present only in terms of accent on social justice, involving considerable overlap and neutralization among parties which vied in usurping each others ideological planks.51Therefore, people are most unlikely to vote in the election where there are no ideological differences. personal magnetism of the Candidate Role of personality in influencing the electoral behaviour cannot be refuted, Charisma refers to mean a certain feel of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from usual men and treated as endowed with supernatural or exceptional powers or qualities.52Moreover it is this quality of the leader which enables him to attract a large number of people and downstairs the influence of which the people pay reverence to the charismatic leader. Therefore, there is a strong belief that organisation of political party under a charismatic leader is a source of popular support for the party.Pubic Opinion and survey Media Pubic opinion and mass media has, of late, become an important indicator of voting behaviour. Public opinion refers to the attitudes of a significant number of people about public affairs, or matters of government and politics that concern the people at large. It is one not of advocacy of any particular policy, subject or topic, but of the supplier of both objective and subjective information, obtained systematically and objectively, analysed dispassionately and deli vered evenly.53The latter has the capacity to bring matters to the attention of the public or to conceal them. This is usually referred to as agenda setting.54While the media may ignore certain topics or exaggerate others, the public also has an enormous capacity for being highly selective in what to take interest in.55In the pages that follow, we shall examine these sociological and psychological factors on the voting behaviour of the electors in the constituency under study.Voting Behaviour in ManipurThe most interesting questions about an election are not touch with who won but with such questions as why people voted the way that they did or what the implications of the replys are. These questions are not always easily answered. A glance only at the campaign events and incidents will not suffice. The alone(predicate) aspects of the election must be blended with a more general understanding of electoral deportment to create a full explanation.Since the introduction of particip atory democracy in Manipur under the Manipur State organization Act, 1948, attempts have been made to study the nature of voting behaviour in Manipur. There has been some general handling of the topic in the study of electoral politics,56political participation,57social and political change,58socio-political study59and that research on the study of voting behaviour had also been undertaken both at the state60and constituency level.61They found that party ideology, ethnicity, role of specie, order, religion, personalities of the candidates, etc., were the main factors affecting voting behaviour in Manipur. As S.K. Chaube notes that in Manipur voters not only attach importance to party levels but also to status and personalities of the candidates.62However, some scholars emphasis on caste as a factor of voting behaviour in Manipur,63though there is absence of caste system in Manipur.64In the hills, ethnic loyalties play an important role as factor in voting decision.65The tribalis m and ethnicity have become more intense as a result of the introduction of braggart(a) franchise.66Electoral politics has significantly given rise to inter-group conflicts in north-east and this is also affecting the democratic values and tradition of the tribals.67In addition to ethnicity, money, promise for government jobs, candidates personalities, etc., have also been a major source of influence to the voters in the hills.68In the send-off and the only election held in Independent Manipur69under the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947, the voting behaviour of the electorate was influenced by ideology of the Manipur State Congress party as the party got the highest number of seats. And also the influenced of personality cult was also evident as twelve independents candidates in fray was also elected to the erstwhile Manipur Assembly.70After the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union in 1948, the first democratic election was held in 1952 under the Constitution of India. In t he election, the socio-political movement of the time demanding for a responsible government influenced the electoral behaviour of the voters.71In the second and third assembly election held in 1957 and 1962 also, the same factors that influenced the election of 1952 were evident. However in 1962 election as R.P. Singh points outin the hills areas, as there were no reserved seats for the schedule tribes, the election were fought on tribal lines. Political parties had sent up only tribals as their candidates except in Jiribam, where half of the voters were non-tribals72In 1967 assembly election of the state, the demand for a fully fledged statehood in the state influenced the voting behaviour of the people.73The electioneering was a quite brisk except in the cease-fire bound northern hills areas where it was restricted to a whisper campaign for fear of underground Nagas who ostracise the elections.74After the attainment of statehood in 1972 and in the assembly election that followe d, voting behaviour of the electorate was oriented toward parochial regional outlook,75as the performance of the regional political party, MPP in this election indicates. However, as a result of political instability in the state, mid-term election was held in 1974, and in that election the main determinant of voting behaviour was inclusion of Manipur language in the Eighth Schedule, local problems and money factors.76In the assembly election of 1980, money, a strong Indira wave, and the impact of personality of the candidates77in fray played an important role in shaping the vote-choice of the electorate. Also, in the election of 1984, the vote-choice was mainly determined by a strong sympathy wave for the Congress (I) due to the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the charming personality of Rajiv Gandhi.78However, in the assembly election of 1990, voting behaviour was mainly influenced by the elders or the head of the family to vote for a particular party or candidate79and also th e influence of money was found to be associated with the vote-choice of the electorate. In the assembly election of 1995 and 2000, money as a determinant of voting behaviour was considered to be more significant than all other factors.80In the assembly election of 2002, influence of money, personality of the candidates, party loyalty, and local issues facing the state and the respective constituencies was noticed.81The assembly election of 2007 perhaps culminated in the victory of the Indian National Congress (I) and the electoral behaviour of the people was mainly influenced by the stability of the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government and the various developmental kit and boodle initiated during the period. The boycott-call given by armed insurgent outfit to the INC during election did not hamper the electoral opinion of the party. The strong personality of the incumbent Chief Minister, Shri Okram Ibobi Singh had profound impact on the voting behaviour of the people.From th e to a higher place analysis, the voting behaviour of the electorate in Manipur changes from time to time and from one election to another. Various socio-political factors had influenced the voting behaviour of the people of the state. The electors of Manipur have exercised their political franchise according to the needs and circumstance of the time for better governance. As Dr. Benjamin Gangmei, sums upthe main determinant of voting behaviour in Manipur includes personality of the candidate, party loyalty, money power, local issues, family influence, election campaign, groupism, election feasting and insurgency.82In the light of th