Transformational Leaders and Ideological Shifts
The role of leadership in Indian politics is not well understood. Often Indian politicians, in line with the thesis that India is a patronage democracy, are presented as transactional leaders who win votes and elections by promising voters private or club goods. Transactional leaders are important to help citizens navigate an opaque state and deeply hierarchical bureaucracy, but their ability to mobilize votes on the national canvas is overstated as is their impact on the party system. We show that leaders who succeed in projecting themselves as transformational politicians who offer clear and distinct ideological visions with respect to the politics of statism and the politics of recognition, have been responsible for the large shifts in India’s party system. Transformational leaders are important because they can hold the party organization, make cross-cutting coalitions, energize vote mobilizers and increase turnout for the party.