Dissecting the politics of South and North India

Indian politics is very fascinating. With the recently declared assembly elections results of Telangana, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh one thing became very apparent, that our country does not vote on similar lines. There is a clear differentiation in the way the North elects its representatives versus the South. Many prominent twitter handles went on to make the demarcation between these states on religious lines. But the choice of voters is not just limited to religion alone. Let’s delve deeper into this matter.

Today, BJP is in power in 12 states and all the major north Indian states like UP,MP, Rajasthan are ruled by BJP. While BJP lost its last south bastion Karnataka in May 2023. Although it was out of power in Maharashtra as well, the infighting within Shiv-Sena created a room for it in Maharashtra. While the other national party Congress is in power in 3 states, Himachal, Telangana and Karnataka.

The view that North is ruled by BJP ipso facto means these are Hindutva states is factually wrong. For example, in Karnataka the Hindu population stands at 84 % while in Uttar Pradesh it is around 79%, and despite that BJP lost power in Karnataka.

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Historical reasons

The impact of any Islamic invasions or partition was felt more in north India than in south. So, the religious divide between Hindus and Muslims can easily rally in the north rather than south.

Levels of developments

Southern states today have achieved more in areas of education, health, women development, and job creation. A single visit to the public health facility like C.V Raman hospital in Bangalore vis-a-vi Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi would help to understand the facilities at both the places. So, what BJP has to offer in northern states may not be suitable for the southern states.

Religion vs Language

People from the south would have language as their first identity than the religion they follow. For example, a Tamil person is more comfortable in his workplace in Bangalore with his state mate irrespective of his or her religion. So, the strategy of the BJP in unifying in the name of religion in the north is not so apt for south India. Also, BJP believes in an idea of one language, one country, which stands in contraction of south’s ethos.

Finance Commission

Southern states despite making great progress in areas of population control do feel that their disbursals under the recent Finance commissions have been declining in recent years. Similarly, the delimitation which is planned before the 2029 general elections would certainly be a big challenge for any party at center to convince its countrymen south of Vindhyas.

Politics of Regional parties

Although, BSP and SP are prominent regional parties in north India, but years of incumbency and failure to reform as brought both sluggishness and exposed their incapabilities to take BJP head-on. On the other hand DMK or AIADMK has always highlighted any shortcomings to Tamil Nadu as a secondary treatment from the centers. For example, despite
not being in power at center, these two parties have pulled a large amount of investments for infrastructure development compared to other states. Thus, not just helping them to win elections but keeping the central parties away from its borders.

Way forward

With the coming of general elections both the central parties BJP and the congress would be working on their strategies to maximize their seats.

Generally, what’s called a cow belt can give you sufficient seats but that won’t be enough for any party to have a majority in the lower house. Congress, which just has 55 representatives in the lower house presently, would find it challenging in both north and south. In the north their biggest challenge is BJP while in the south the regional parties would offer them a tough fight if their alliance does not come through.

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Conclusion

With a country of a continental size of ours, is obviously going to have vast differences within its physical borders that demand different attention. It would be a mistake by any political party to follow a one size fits all approach to the entire landscape.