Developmental Welfarism and Programmatic Politics: India’s Changing Electoral Landscape

The welfare state is way of governing in which the state or an established group of social institutions provides basic economic security for its citizens. Modern states have programs that are reflective of a welfare state, such as welfare pensions for vulnerable sections affirmative actions and spending on education, health etc. Tamil Nadu ruled by Dravidian parties, they were one of the best executors of the welfare politics in electoral arena. Tamil Nadu's welfare model is being copied in other states since it gained massive electoral advantages. Political parties have realized that the surest way to reap electoral dividends is through benefits to an individual voter. Nowadays Indian elections are turnout into a programmatic way. Voters are more likely to give credit to the governments for their welfare schemes. This paper tries to analyse the Indian electoral scenario and the influence of welfare politics. The astounding victory of left democratic front (LDF) in the Kerala assembly election and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi can be seen as its scheme of blending governance with developmental welfarism. Apart from the crises such as flood and covid19 the effective operationalization of government gives electoral dividends for these parties. The NDA government has been crafting its flagship programs since 2014, welfare programs such as Ujjwala, Jan-Dhan Yojana are helped to bag the votes and again get power in central