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    ISAS Briefs

    Quick analytical responses to occurrences in South Asia

    The Rural Vote in the 2019 Indian General Elections

    Vani Swarupa Murali and Diego Maiorano

    24 June 2019

    The 2019 Indian general elections returned the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to power with a larger majority. In this election, the BJP managed to expand its voter base into rural areas, in spite of severe agrarian distress and farmers’ protests. The paper looks into this paradox to understand how the BJP was able to exceed its previous win.