We build on valuable prior work done on slum politics in India by asking two questions. First, how are political parties integrating squatter settlements (bastis) into their organisations and electoral strategies? Dharavi in Mumbai is a case in point.We have tried to document how political leaders and authority emerge in slums and how these leaders get connected to political parties. We did not find this to be the case.We surveyed 2,200 residents and 629 slum leaders in 110 slums across both cities. Our finding is that 83% of slum leaders held a job outside of being a leader.

Source: Economic Times September 28, 2019 17:26 UTC