Soon, Karnataka will be entering the season wherein citizens will be appealed to, urged, reasoned with and cajoled into casting their votes to perform that one significant duty as a citizen. Political parties will woo them like there is no tomorrow. They will push them into believing that their party’s ideology is best suited for their happiness, well-being and security … physical, social and financial.
While mere casting a vote is a mechanical movement for the voter, what goes on in the voter’s mind is a reaction to a mix of various narratives at play. These narratives that are floated by the political parties are the ones that play a pivotal role in the outcome of the polls. They shape the outcome of the voter’s final decision on who to vote for, and why.
For all you know, the voter most likely made up that decision long before casting the vote. In most cases, that is the case. Very few wake up on the day of voting, have a steaming cup of tea or coffee, and then impulsively decide who to vote for, or to go for “None Of The Above” (NOTA).
What may seem unfair is that these narratives are collectively — and often conspiratorially — created by political elements to put their rivals down to influence the highly malleable and impressionable mind of the voter. And wherever there is a semblance of conspiracy, there is every chance of a narrative being fake or modified to suit specific political objectives. The voters consume such narratives floated by the political elements and their intellectual props.
Politics is largely psychology at play. Political scientists know it. Seasoned politicians know it, too. Political narratives to sway certain sections of voters to their line of thought is a credible tool in the hands of politicians. Creating narratives helps them build and shape perspectives among sections of the electorate. It helps them alter relationships among various groups — communal or otherwise — as well as among individuals.
But by their very nature, political narratives have the potential to be transformed into facts from what may not be factual, and that becomes a part of the public discourse, repeatedly churned out in speeches at political rallies. “Political narrative is impactful in its ability to elicit pathos, allowing the narrative to be influential through the value it provides rather than the truth that is told,” according to American Journal of Cultural Sociology.
Voter behaviour is basic human behaviour. They will believe in a particular narrative if it suits them, and will vehemently oppose it if it doesn’t. This is the basis of major political debates on issues that are felt to be the determining factors in a poll.
On an extreme end is violence resorted to for creating narratives. Which is why cases of lynching, communal and sectarian riots and arson tend to go up as the polls come closer. Some political party or the other is directly or indirectly at work in instigating these to sow seeds for a fresh narrative or consolidate upon an existing one. It’s like lighting the fuse of a serial firecracker and stepping aside to enjoy its results.
Voter impressions are hard to shake. Once formed, they are difficult to undo despite the best efforts.
When that happens, the narrative/s have played their part “successfully”. But let it not be forgotten that the voter’s mind is made up based on half-truths that construct the narratives … unless mere looks or choice of dressing styles of a candidate plays the role to influence the voter to vote for that particular poll contestant.
Democracy, unfortunately, is more complex than that. People want to know, and politicians will leave no stones unturned to meet that demand — even by influencing them with half-truths.
Nirad Mudur
Deputy Resident Editor, Karnataka
niradgmudur@newindianexpress.com