Question

State two reasons to say that caste alone cannot determine election results in India.

Answer 1

Hint Indian society is caste-based society and it has a huge impact on politics. Politics is not free from casteist influence. We can also see its impact on voting. But there are several other factors which determine the election results and not only caste.

Complete answer:
Caste and politics are two totally different things, still, it is not only the caste that influences politics but politics also affects the caste system. Sometimes it does look like it has become two sides of the same coin. However, it is totally wrong to say that caste alone determines the election results.

We can state the following reasons for the same:-
Every candidate or the party has to win the confidence of more than one caste and community to win the election because no parliamentary constituency has a clear majority of one single caste.
It is not necessary that people of the same caste or community have the same interests, they may have different choices and interests depending on their social, economic and political status and conditions. Thus, caste cannot be the sole factor.
There could be more than one candidate of the same caste, while others may not have any candidate from their caste. In that case, voters have to vote out of their caste.
It is also pertinent that voters consider the performance of the government and popularity of the leaders while voting, irrespective of their castes.
Hence, we can clearly conclude that “caste alone cannot determine election results in India.”

Note:
Caste is one of the major factors but not the sole factor to determine the election result. Indian voters are now more educated and aware than before. Now they know the value of their vote. Now they vote for the welfare and betterment of the society and in the national interest rather than on caste or religion. They vote for a deserving candidate.