‘Development Alone Doesn’t Win Elections in India’: Ruchir Sharma

“No party can win elections based on development, they will have to focus on other factors too”, said Ruchir Sharma.

The Quint’s Editorial Director, Sanjay Pugalia in conversation with Global Investor and author, Ruchir Sharma.

(Photo: The Quint)

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Video Producer: Debayan Dutta

Global Investor and author Ruchir Sharma spoke exclusively to The Quint’s Editorial Director, Sanjay Pugalia. He elaborated on how to win elections in India. “No party can win elections based on development, they will have to focus on other factors too,” said Sharma.

Sharma also said, “It’s extremely difficult to win elections on the basis of development. Even if there has been considerable development, our experience from past elections tell us that mere developmental work is not enough to win polls.”

“This is something I have written in my book too. Regarding this, my favourite insight is that there was a local politician named UT Khadir, whom I met in Mangalore during the Karnataka election trip. What he told me was very interesting. He told me that Indian elections are like taking six exams in which you have to score the minimum marks ie 35% in all of them. He never told me what those six exams were, but my experience prompted me to determine which were these exams.”

Ruchir Sharma, Author and Global Investor

Six Factors Key to Winning Elections

According to Sharma, focus on six key factors can help win elections.

• Caste and Religion
• Family Connection
• Welfare Expenditure
• Economy
• Effect of Corruption
• Development

Winning an election solely on the basis on development is extremely difficult, said Sharma. “More so, fighting elections in India itself is a mammoth task,” he added.