Vote Bank' is a term used to describe en-mass voting of an ethnic group or many groups for one common leader or party.The term was initialy used to describe Muslims in India who tend to vote together,extended for other groups in 80s who showed similar voting behaviour. In Indian context there are many Vote Banks eg. Muslim, Yadav, Dalit,OBC,Brahmin etc.Similar phenomenon has been observed outside India too e.g.,in Kuwait and Malaysia where Muslims and women are considered Vote Banks.

It is assumed that every individual Vote Bank would vote together.Political Parties try to woo them with their policies and promises.Hence each of them has affiliation with a political party.It is assumed BJP commands Hindu Vote Bank while Lalu Prasad Yadav commands Muslim & Yadav vote bank often called MY.Similarly congress too has its own Vote Bank called Minority vote Bank which comprises of Muslims, Christians and Tribals.The Akali Dal in Punjab and the Muslim League in Kerala espouse the cause of the Sikhs and Muslims interests at the provincial level.

Language is another category in the diversity among the peoples of India. Various political parties have cultivated linguistic Vote Banks. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, as well as the Assam Gon Parishad in Assam, all flaunt their linguistic Vote Banks.

Every political party develop their own Vote Bank by pandering to the needs of a group.However the left parties, CPI and CPI(M), are ideology-based political entities and have a committed ideological cadre who have successfully kept themselves away from Vote Bank Politics.West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura are the few states where these parties are strong.

References

See Also

• Indian politics
• Lok Sabha
• Parliament of India
• Electoral system
• Political campaigning