Political Communication in the 1991 General Election in India with Special Reference to Andhra Pradesh
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POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN THE 1991 GENERAL ELECTION IN INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ANDHRA PRADESH KAVITA KARAN Submitted for the degree of Ph.D. London School of Economics 199£7 UMI Number: U615177 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615177 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 / Y^StzS F 7 S ° I 0 POLITICAL AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a lot of people who helped shape this study, but here I can only name a few. To Prof.Tom Nossiter, I am deeply indebted. His sustained encouragement and support led to the completion of the thesis. His affection made our stay in London memorable. Mr.Peter Dawson helped in the final shaping of the thesis. I would like to thank the interviewers who spared the time to collect the information braving the heat of the Indian summer. Thanks are due to the Indian politicians, journalists, political commentators, intellectuals, civil servants and academicians who spared the time to meet me during the elections. I am grateful to officials of the Central Research Fund and the International Research Development Centre for providing the financial support for my field work in India and the Nehru Centenary Fellowship for all my years of study at the LSE. I would also like to thank Dr.Daniel Satyaraj and Penny Page for computing the data. Among friends I would like to thank Vijay Kumar, Prem, Gautam, Sanjay, Sunita, Sunil, Catherine, Smita, Lydia, Deepa and Rosa. The word processing skills of Kristina were valuable in the presentation of the thesis. Finally, I would thank my family. My husband, Ravi Karan who handled with patience all the hassles so that I could concentrate on my work. My son, Rohan helped out in the data entry and Kunal born a few months before the completion of this thesis for behaving like a lovable child. Thanks are due to my brother Rohit Raj Mathur, for sending all the information from India. I dedicate the thesis to my parents, Dr. Shiv Raj Mathur and Maya Devi Mathur. ABSTRACT In most competitive democracies, the allegedly US inspired changing campaign practices of the 1980s and 1990s have been subjected to intense scrutiny. India, as the largest democracy has also seen the use of modern techniques of political marketing alongside conventional forms of electioneering. These 'Western' techniques were first adopted in 1984 by Congress-(Indira) under Rajiv Gandhi. By 1991, these techniques were common place with almost all the political parties hiring the services of professional advertising agencies during elections. Campaigns began to be adapted from western models, melding the 'American' techniques with rallies, public meetings and door-to-door campaigns. Audio and video cassettes have been adapted to the Indian context, most notably the video-on-wheels. This research on Political Communications in the . general elections and its effectiveness is one of the first of its kind on India, the literature having concentrated on voting behaviour in relation to socio-economic characteristics. The importance of communication during elections has been inadequately researched because of the diversity of the country. Through a content analysis of the coverage of election information in the media and case studies of party campaigns, the study evaluates the campaign practices in the mass media and conventional interpersonal forms. It highlights the electronic and outdoor forms like posters, wall writings, symbol displays and cutouts that were important during the 1991 elections. The thesis then examines the impact of these campaigns through a panel survey on a sample of 1155 electors from the three constituencies of Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nagarkurnool in Andhra Pradesh. The voting patterns have been evaluated in relation to access to and the impact of different forms of political’ communications. Research revealed that Indian political communication campaigns were well organised and professional advertising agencies were hired to promote the parties. Campaigns have been systematically planned through the development of creative and media strategies. Apart from the mass media channels, interpersonal forms continued to be important to reach the diverse electorate. There was a high level of exposure to newspapers, radio and television which were sought as important sources for election related information. Interpersonal forms were found to be persuasive. Education, urbanization, gender, caste and religion are important factors influencing the voters' perceptions and receptivity to electoral communications. But, while increased level of information does heighten the level of political awareness, it does not determine the final outcome. An important aspect was that families largely tended to vote as single units with men generally deciding who to vote for. Women showed relatively little interest in politics (though comprising an important 45% of voters) and their under representation in the study necessitated the need for weighting. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the middle of the elections adds an important dimension to the research, from those who voted in a normal election and those in the 'sympathy wave'. This study, though conducted under unusual circumstances does provide a much needed insight into the political changes in the country and the increasing use of US inspired media driven campaign practices of political marketing combining comfortably with conventional practices of political marketing in India. A final yet important aspect of this research is the exploration of the problems of survey research in a country of cultural plurality such as India. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION................................................ 1 CHAPTER I THEORETICAL APPROACH, COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND RESEARCH DESIGN SECTION I THEORETICAL APPROACH........................................ 11 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS....................................... 17 ANDHRA PRADESH THE AREA OF STUDY............................24 'PROFILES OF CAMPAIGNS ...................................... 33 SAMPLE FOR THE STUDY....................................... 36 CHAPTER II INDIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM, POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, MASS MEDIA AND THE 1991 ELECTIONS SECTION I INDIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEM ................................... 39 THE POLITICAL PARTIES ..................................... 42 -POLITICAL COMMUNICATION AND INDIAN ELECTION STUDIES....... 50 THE 1991 TENTH GENERAL ELECTIONS............................55 SECTION II MASS MEDIA IN INDIA AND THE 1991 GENERAL ELECTIONS.........63 THE ROLE OF PRESS........................................... 68 THE PERIODICAL PRESS........................................ 74 THE BROADCAST MEDIA......................................... 75 THE USE OF RADIO............................................ 77 THE USE OF TELEVISION....................................... 79 CHAPTER III CAST STUDIES OF THE SELECTED ELECTION CAMPAIGNS SECTION I STUDY OF THE CONGRESS -I ELECTION CAMPAIGN................. 84 SECTION II CASE STUDY OF THE BJP ELECTION CAMPAIGN................... 102 SECTION III CASE STUDY OF THE JANATA DAL/NATIONAL FRONT ELECTION CAMPAIGN....................................................123 SECTION IV STUDY OF THE TELUGU DESAM PARTY ELECTION CAMPAIGN......... 136 SECTION V STUDY OF THE MIM ELECTION CAMPAIGN ....................... 148 SECTION VI VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN BY THE GOVERNMENT 158 CHAPTER IV SOCIO ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS, ATTITUDES TO THE POLITICAL PROCESS AND ACCESS TO MEDIA INTRODUCTION................................................162 SECTION I SOCIO ECONOMIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS..................... 163 SECTION II POLITICAL INTEREST, GENERAL AWARENESS AND ATTITUDES TO GOVERNMENT AND POLITICIANS................... 175 SECTION III ACCESS AND FREQUENCY TO THE MEDIA ........................ 185 SOURCES OF INFORMATION SOUGHT DURING ELECTIONS............ 189 CHAPTER V USES AND IMPACT OF MASS MEDIA DURING ELECTIONS SECTION I NEWSPAPERS..................................................191 SECTION II THE PERIODICALS PRESS...................................... 210 SECTION III ELECTION PROGRAMMES ON RADIO............................... 215 SECTION IV ELECTION PROGRAMMES ON TELEVISION..........................224 CHAPTER VI USES AND IMPACT OF OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA DURING ELECTIONS INTRODUCTION............................................... 242 SECTION I VIDEO CASSETTES AS NARROW CASTING MEDIA................... 243 SECTION II 4 AUDIO CASSETTES AS NARROWCASTING MEDIA.................... 254 SECTION III FILMS FOR POLITICAL COMMUNICATION..........................257 CHAPTER VII USES AND IMPACT OF OUTDOOR FORMS OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION SECTION I PRINTED LITERATURE......................................... 265 SECTION II POSTERS ....................................................266 SECTION III CAMPAIGN LITERATURE -HANDBILLS AND LEAFLETS 271 SECTION IV WALL WRITINGS ............................................. 274 SECTION V PARTY SYMBOLS.....................................