Democracy, Economic Reforms and Election Results in India

The NES data does not enable us to establish causal relations between the impact of reforms and voting behaviour, or arrive at conclusions on what people feel about economic reforms. But the survey provides us with some insights into Indian political economy and focuses our attention on some of the basic issues, tensions and dilemmas in Indian democracy. The aggregate data of the NES on economy-related matters give us a feeling that India is a nation divided and ambivalent as to the path it should take for its development. It shows that there is no consensus on economic reforms, even among middle and upper classes. Opinions are divided across classes, castes, occupations, and locations.