Winning the mandate: the Indian experience

Table of Contents:


• Is 2014 Election a Game Changer?

• Trends in Election Campaign since Independence

• Coalition Era Starts

• The India Shining Campaign and Its failure

• Gujarat Riot and the Incumbent Government

• The Top-driven Congress Campaign for Political Mobilization

• India Against Corruption, a Campaign Builds Up

• The Leadership-centric Election Campaign

• The Election Campaign and the Manifesto and Subtle Articulation of Political Messages

• Assessing the Election Campaign

• The Role of Social Media in Political Mobilization

• The Unique 2014 National Poll in India

• Reinventing Political Communication—the Modi Interlude(?)

• Conclusion: Marketizing an Ideology-driven Dream

• Postscript: The Bihar Assembly Election, 2015—Revival of Coalition Dharma

On 16th May 2014, India witnessed the result of an intense political campaign. Those who were vanquished felt that this was due to the success of a marketing blitzkrieg, which actually pollutes a democracy. Again, for those who supported the eventual winner—the Narendra Modi-led BJP—it was a great victory.

Viewed either way, India’s national election for the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014 will remain a landmark in the annals of political campaigns. The work is thus a study of campaign strategies, how they are framed, the role of local actors and to what extent individuals rule over ideologies and vice versa.

An important contribution to the study of India’s 2014 General Elections.

(http://www.sagepub.in/books/Book250304?siteId=sage-india&prodTypes=any&q=the+Indian+experience&fs=1)