Does State politics subsume the local agenda or is it the personality cult of national and State leaders that tilts the outcome? For political parties, elections to urban local bodies appear to be a preparatory ground for consolidating their positions and widening their support base for winning the Assembly elections. These considerations, rather than definite political programmes of the respective parties on improving the civic services, motivate the political parties and the voters, respectively. Such politicisation of local elections to mimic larger questions of ideology and politics of the State restricts the space of local democracy. As India urbanises, acknowledging the formal and informal interactions and incorporating them to understand local politics can provide valuable insights into our urbanisation trajectory.

Source: The Hindu May 08, 2017 00:33 UTC