# Votebank

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{{Short description|Type of voting block on ethnic or identity lines}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2019}}

A '''votebank''' (also spelled '''vote-bank''' or '''vote bank'''), in the political discourse of [India](/source/Politics_of_India), is a loyal [bloc](/source/Voting_bloc) of [voters](/source/voters) from a single [community](/source/community), who consistently back a certain [candidate](/source/candidate) or political formation in [democratic](/source/democracy) [elections](/source/elections). Such behavior is often the result of an expectation of benefits, whether real or imagined, from the political formations, often at the cost of other communities. Votebank politics is the practice of creating and maintaining votebank through divisive policies. As it encourages voting on the basis of self-interest of certain groups, often against their better judgement, it is considered harmful to the principles of the  [representative democracy](/source/representative_democracy).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vifindia.org/article/2013/october/29/vote-bank-politics-a-serious-threat-to-india-s-unity | title=Vote Bank Politics: A Serious Threat to India's Unity }}</ref> Here, community may be of a [caste](/source/Caste_system_in_India), [religion](/source/Religion_in_India), [language](/source/Languages_of_India), or [subnation](/source/subnation).

==Etymology==
The term was first used by noted Indian [sociologist](/source/sociologist), [M. N. Srinivas](/source/M._N._Srinivas){{sfnp|Grillo|Needham|2000}} in his 1955 paper entitled ''The Social System of a Mysore Village''.{{sfnp|Srinivas|1955}} He used it in the context of political influence exerted by a patron over a client. Later, the expression was used by [F. G. Bailey](/source/F._G._Bailey), a professor of [anthropology](/source/anthropology) at the [University of California, San Diego](/source/University_of_California%2C_San_Diego), in his 1959 book ''Politics and Social Change'',{{sfnp|Bailey|1959}} to refer to the [electoral](/source/electoral) influence of the caste leader. This is the usage that has since become popular.

==Examples==
Some of the first identified votebanks were along caste lines. Others based on other community characteristics, such as [religion](/source/religion) and [language](/source/language), have also occurred. Votebanks are generally considered undesirable in electoral politics. For example, {{Harvcoltxt|Thapar|2013}} argues that votebanks based on either caste or religion stand in the way of secularisation. {{Harvcoltxt|Katju|2011}} identifies accusations of votebanking as a rhetorical tool used by [Hindu nationalists](/source/Hindu_nationalists) in complaints about special rights or privileges granted to non-Hindus in India. Other examples include:

*In 1989, the [Badaga people](/source/Badaga_people) of South India petitioned the Indian government to be recognized as an official tribe, demonstrating ''en masse'' on 15 May of that year to imply the strength of the Badaga votebank.{{sfnp|Heidemann|2014|p=96}}

*In 1985, [Rajiv Gandhi](/source/Rajiv_Gandhi) acted against [Shah Bano judgement](/source/Mohd._Ahmed_Khan_v._Shah_Bano_Begum) under influence of Muslim conservatives. 

==Remedy==
Some argue {{Who|date=February 2024}} that the Votebank politics can be disabled by limiting the provisions of [Tenth Schedule](/source/Anti-defection_law_(India)) of [Indian Constitution](/source/Constitution_of_India) to a [few critical issues](/source/Anti-defection_law_(India)).{{clarify|date=June 2025}}{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

== See also ==
* [Clientelism](/source/Clientelism)
* [Ethnic party](/source/Ethnic_party)
* [Identity politics](/source/Identity_politics)
* [Political particularism](/source/Political_particularism)
* [Ethnocultural politics in the United States](/source/Ethnocultural_politics_in_the_United_States)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|40em}}
*{{citation
|last=Bailey
|first=F. G.
|authorlink=F.G. Bailey
|year=1959
|title=Politics and Social Change
|publisher=University of California Press
|location=Berkeley
}}
*{{citation
|last=Basu
|first=Partha
|year=2007
|title="Brand Buddha" in India's West Bengal: The Left Reinvents Itself
|journal=Asian Survey
|volume=47
|issue=2
|pages=288–306
|doi=10.1525/as.2007.47.2.288
}}
*{{citation
|last1=Grillo
|first1=Ralph
|last2=Needham
|first2=Rodney
|year=2000
|title=Obituary: M. N. Srinivas
|journal=Anthropology Today
|volume=16
|issue=1
|pages=22
|issn=0268-540X
|jstor=2678199
|doi=10.1111/1467-8322.00007
}}
*{{citation
|last=Heidemann
|first=Frank
|year=2014
|title=Objectification and Social Aesthetics: Memoranda and the Celebration of "Badaga Day"
|journal=Asian Ethnology
|volume=73
|issue=1/2
|pages=91–109
|doi=10.18874/ae.73.1-2.06
|doi-broken-date=2 July 2025
|doi-access=free
}}
*{{citation
|last=Katju
|first=Manjari
|year=2011
|title=The Understanding of Freedom in Hindutva
|journal=Social Scientist
|volume=39
|issue=3/4
|pages=3–22
}}
*{{citation
|last=Srinivas
|first=M. N.
|authorlink = M. N. Srinivas
|year=1955
|chapter=The Social System of a Mysore Village
|editor-last=Marriott
|editor-first=McKim
|title=Village India: studies in the little community
|publisher=University of Chicago Press
|location=Chicago
|pages=1–35
}}
*{{citation
|last=Thapar
|first=Romila
|year=2013
|title=The Secular Mode for India
|journal=Social Scientist
|volume=41
|issue=11/12
|pages=3–10
}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wiktionary|vote bank|Votebank}}
* Shourie, Arun (2012). Falling over backwards: An essay on reservations and judicial populism. New Delhi: HarperCollins Publishers. {{ISBN|978-9350293553}}
* Syed Ali Mujtaba, [https://web.archive.org/web/20041205125520/https://www.himalmag.com/2004/may/commentary_4.htm ‘Monolith India’ and the vote bank], ''Himal South Asian'', 2004

Category:Political terminology in India
Category:Elections in India
Category:Identity politics in India
Category:Muslim politics in India
Category:Identity politics

{{India-poli-stub}}
{{poli-term-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Votebank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votebank) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Votebank?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.