Tariq Thachil

Yesterday, Tariq Thachil lead a lecture in Knox Hall called “Elite Parties, Poor Voters: How Social Services Win Votes in India.” We sent Bwogger Ari Malik to check out what Thachil had to say and report on the night’s lecture. 

I entered the room covered in mahogany furniture. At least I thought it was mahogany – it smelt rich and academic. At the front was Tariq Thachil, Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale, and he was surrounded by old distinguished professors. I felt as if I had made it in the academic world – all I needed was my monocle and fountain pens.

Once everyone had settled down, Professor Thachil began his presentation about the ways in which political parties in India appeal to the public. The fundamental crux of the issue was how to balance pleasing the poor demographic, appeasing the rich and attracting ideologues. It was all very House of Cards.

After disproving the idea of social engineering – the placing of lower caste individuals in positions of power to appeal to a wider demographic – Thachil began to prove why the “service strategy” provides the best solution for political parties to garner votes. A “service strategy” involves providing communities with benefits, like basic medicines and books, in order to generate popular support for one’s party.

He indicated that providing services to individuals could directly influence them to voting for your party due to the “tangible benefits” that comes along with the strategy. Citing the state of Chhattisgarh, Thachil proved that while the quality of the service was irrelevant (basic medical care was more than sufficient), the very notion of aiding the public drastically improved the popularity of the party.

Having suggested that it creates a “social network” of binding relationships, the service strategy was the most productive way to garner votes in India. This once again proves that very rarely does politics depend on who you are as a human being, or what you stand for, but what you do for me.

Tariq Thachil via Yale’s PoliSci website