AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN DERA GHAZI KHAN DISTRICT
Keywords:
Landed Elite, Tumandars, Sajjada nashins, Patronage, Biraderi networks, Vote Bloc, Broker Patrons, Political Ideology, Socio-Economic Stratification, Institutional bargainAbstract
In electoral politics of rural western Punjab, people for the pursuit of their interests strategically gather in their biraderi (extended family group), and then become the part of village level vote bloc under the leadership of some influential persons. Vote bloc leaders then play the role of a broker patron and deals with the politicians or candidates who are comprised of landed elite with background of Tumandars (tribal chiefs) and Sajjada nashins (custodians of shrines) for private or public goods in lieu of their electoral support. Sometimes biraderi (extended family) leaders who are normally economically well-off within the kin group themselves directly bargain with the politicians. The politicians, during the time of elections, realizing the emerging national political scenario and the political party expected to come in power, try to get its party ticket to contest the election. If they for any reason fail to get ticket from that party, they contest election as independent candidates so that after winning the election they could join the party in power. They always want to remain in power so that they could cater the demands of their supporters by giving them political patronage failing which would lose their political support that might end their political career. This is the case with the politicians contesting elections from this constituency of the area under research at both levels of provincial and national assembly seats. In this way, it has been explored that through these social and economic tools of vote bloc, biraderism and patronage, the ideological, policy oriented, horizontal class based politics is kept away and bar to emerge.
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