Goa, Aug. 27 -- AKBAR GADED

Elections are often cel ebrated as the corner stone of representative democracy, giving citizens the power to decide who governs and in what direction socie ty should move. Yet behind every vote lies a fundamental question. What determines a voter's electoral choice? Is it loyalty to a political party, agreement with its ideology and policies, or is the deci sion increasingly driven by a particular individual contest ing the election? As electoral politics becomes more per sonalised and localised, un derstanding the basis of elec toral choice has become more important than ever. Recent State and local elec tions suggest that voters are increasingly influenced by individual candidates rather than political part...