Do Indians Vote Their Caste - or Their Jati, or Their Class, or ...?

Résumé En

According to common parlance, analysts of India's politics assume that 'Indians vote their caste while casting their vote'. The 2014 general elections have reflected a certain erosion of the influence of caste compared to the growing importance of class elements. In the first part of this chapter, we will focus on this evolution that is partly due to the socio-economic differentiation of caste groups that has resulted, in particular, in the formation of a 'neo-middle class'. However, caste continues to play a significant role at the "jati" level, a more relevant unit of analysis than the large categories of 'upper castes', 'Other Backward Classes', and 'Scheduled Classes' which need to be disaggregated. We will make this point in the second part of this chapter by using data of the 2014 and the 2019 elections and by focusing on the state level. We will then highlight the fact that socio-economic differentiation is also taking place within "jati", a process that is bound to affect the voting pattern at that level too. Finally, we will scrutinize the impact of urbanization over the act of voting in relation to caste, as this variable also plays an important role at the "jati" level.