Politische Individualität in Tamilnadu - Ein Bericht über die Wahlen zur Legislative Assembly

Abstract Unlike the other State elections to the Legislative Assembly which the Congress-I won triumphantly, in Tamilnadu the AIADMK thoroughly defeated the DMK-Congress-I - alliance. There are three main reasons for this result: 1) The dissolution of the M. G. R.-government which had functioned quite satisfactorily placed M. G. R. in the role of the underdog fighting against heavy odds, which won over the voters. 2) The voters who wanted a strong Central government and, therefore, supported the DMK-Congress-I alliance in the Lok Sabha elections, did not want the same alliance to rule in the State, preferring a purely regional party there. 3) The elections were determined mainly by the votes of the lower and lower middle classes among whom M. G.R. has its staunchest supporters, while the upper classes largely abstained from voting. The results of Tamilnadu thus show that voters in that State differentiate clearly between the Central and State government and do not necessarily consider the political constellation in Delhi desirable for the state.