Election Participation:
- Political participation can be done by people voluntarily participating in various political activities and if people see this participation at the time of elections it is called participation in elections.
- Participation in elections takes many forms.
- Generally voting in elections, participating in election campaigns, becoming an active member of a political party, participating in political movements etc.
- The 60-65 per cent turnout seen in the elections suggests the participation of the people in the elections.
- Factors influencing voting:
- Factors influencing voting can be divided into short-term and long-term factors.
- Short-term factors are factors that can influence one or two elections.
(1) Economic factors: Rising commodity prices, unemployment, non-suicides (farmers), road-water-electricity problem.
- There is a lot of propaganda and accusations about these issues during elections.
- The price of onions in the Delhi elections made the ruling party sit at home.
(2) The magnetic personality of leaders: Electoral issues, in addition to ideas, rely heavily on leadership.
- The attractive, charming personality of the leaders of the political parties, the tone of his speech directly influences the election.
- In a state like Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav's personalities gave RJD the power of Bihar for 10 years.
- Under the magnetic leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee and Narendra Bhai Modi, the BJP has won a landslide victory in several state elections.
- Due to the attraction towards leaders, various political parties include film heroes in their party.
- E.g. Paresh Rawal, Rajbabbr, Manoj Tiwari, Hitu Kanodia etc.
- At one time, even Amitabh Bachchan was nominated by political parties.
- In South India, Rajinikanth wants to establish his own party.
- The personal-based politics of leaders alone does not last long.
- In Gujarat, after splitting from the BJP and establishing the Rajpa, Shankarsinh became the Chief Minister.
(3) Some pre-election events: Some pre-election contingencies affect the election.
- E.g. In 1971-72, a political party won a record-breaking referendum on the Indo-Pak war issue, and the same party lost its referendum in 1977 due to the crisis.
- However, at present, all parties are indirectly trying to prevent some pre-election incidents.
- E.g. 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly and Patidars Reserve.
(4) Influence of media: Media such as radio, TV, newspapers, mass media or social media play an important role in shaping the referendum during elections.
- Some of these media outlets publish information at the behest of political parties.
- At the present time, even the opinion polls or the opinions of the voters before the elections make the voters think.
- The role of social media is important in making Narendra Modi a popular leader at the national level in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
- However, surveys circulating on social media are also shocking.
- E.g. Not a single media outlet has commented on the flamboyant success of the AAP in the 2015-16 Delhi elections.