Time of Vote Choice in India

Shreyas Sardesai and Jyoti Mishra

Studies in Indian Politics, 2017, vol. 5, issue 1, 82-91

Abstract: This piece analyzes the subject Time of Vote Choice in India, a hitherto under-researched aspect of voting behaviour in the country. Using longitudinal data from National Election Studies conducted by Lokniti between 1996 and 2014, it shows that voting intentions of India’s voters are increasingly crystallizing before the start of the campaign period of an election. On the other hand, the proportion of voters postponing their vote choice to after the start of a campaign has declined over the last two decades. This declining trend is unique to India as most Western democracies have registered an overtime increase in campaign-period decision-making. While Indian voters who are less political, less partisan and less exposed to media are more likely to be late deciders than early ones, nevertheless, we also find that late deciders—both campaign-period and last-minute—have gradually become more politically sophisticated and attentive over the years. In this respect, our findings validate both the traditional floating voter theory of the Columbia School and some of the newer studies that have countered it.

Keywords: Vote choice; TOVC; NES; last minute; before campaign; during campaign; late deciders; early deciders; pre-campaign; campaign period; voting day; national; state; elections (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indpol:v:5:y:2017:i:1:p:82-91

DOI: 10.1177/2321023017698269

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