The 2021 Tamil Nadu state election results did not surprise many, with the expected victory of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and partners. ...
The 2021 Tamil Nadu state election results did not surprise many, with the expected victory of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and partners.
In this article, we look at the representational outcome of this election, and place data on variables such as caste, gender, religion and other socio-demographic variables into a historical and geographical perspective. This exercise helps us identify some of the deep long-term trends that make Tamil Nadu so specific and yet, not entirely different from the rest of the country.
This article was made possible by the contributions of many students, researchers and field data collectors who worked hard in a very difficult time.
The enduring domination of backward castes
The Tamil Nadu State Assembly has been completely dominated by Other Backward Classes ever since the Dravidian parties started winning elections. In five decades, the overall share of OBCs in the assembly hasn’t changed much, at an average of 72% of all seats. Their share decreased a little bit from the early 2000s, when other groups, such as the Naidus, gained a bit of representation, mostly in cities like Chennai, Vellore, Tiruvallur or Viridhunagar. But otherwise, there is an overall domination of OBCs, who also make for 76.1% of the total population.
Obviously, Other Backward...
