An Analysis of Elections in India

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The present project had two aims : to analyse the 14^<th> Lok Sabha (the Lower House) elections and to trace the changes of the socio-economic backgrounds of the Members of Parliament since 1977. The achievements are as follows.1.The analysis of the 14^<th> Lok Sabha elections has been successfully completed. The book titled Indo Minshushugi no Henyou (The Transformation of Indian Democracy) was published in February, 2006, with 28 scholars dealing with each and every state plus three union territories and all the political parties with at least one seat. This volume, a third in the series of the election analyses starting with the 1998 elections, is not only more comprehensive, but it also pays more attention to the socio-economic conditions of each state.2.The GIS method utilized for the election analyses has rendered the analysis more systematic.3.The findings of the project have been presented both in Japan and outside.(1)A panel was organised on "Indian Democracy and the 14^<th> Lok Sabha Elections," for the annual conference of the Japan Association of South Asian Studies on 1^<st> and 2^<nd> October, 2005.(2)Takako Hirose presented a paper on "The Indian Democracy and the 14^<th> Lok Sabha Elections," at JNU, Delhi and ISAS in Singapore in March 2006.4.The second part of the research is still incomplete. The data on all the Members of Parliament, their names, constituencies, political parties, previous occupations, educations, family backgrounds, etc. have been collected and inputted into the computer. However, the data are yet to be streamlined according to our frames of reference and presented in the GIS form. A couple of analytical and highly academic papers are scheduled to be completed within 18 months and published in an academic journal.