The article probes the independence of vote choice among Indian voters during national elections. Analyzing Lokniti’s election survey data it highlights that even as a majority of voters take an independent call on who they are going to vote for, there is still a significant proportion that votes according to someone else’s advice. While this counsel has always come from a family member mostly, voters are increasingly paying attention to a community leaders’ opinion as well, particularly those voters who belong to marginalized and minority social groups. Dependent voting is also more prevalent among women and voters in socio-economically backward states.
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