Populist Politics and Electoral Democracy: A Study of Mamata Banerjee

Abstract

One crucial factor behind Mamata Banerjee’s enormous success in the landmark 2011 assembly election in West Bengal has undoubtedly been her populist style of functioning. In this paper I examine whether her politics can be labelled as a pathological political phenomenon or as an authentic form of political representation. I try and locate the element of ‘the people’ and see how she maintains a fine balance between the heterogeneous interests surrounding it juxtaposed against legitimacy and accountability. Lastly I analyse the possibility of ushering of certain self-imposed qualifications and limitations within the larger ambit of her populist style of functioning.