What are the representational outcomes of the West Bengal 2021 election? What the social characteristics of the old and new occupants of th...
What are the representational outcomes of the West Bengal 2021 election? What the social characteristics of the old and new occupants of the Vidhan Sabha? In this article, we combine data collected by the Triveni Centre for Political Data team through the campaign to historical data collected for the SPINPER project to provide an overview of some key historical representation patterns in the West Bengal assembly.
We look in particular at caste representation, gender and minority representation, as well as the career trajectory or profile of MLAs in Bengal.
Assembly caste profile
West Bengal has always been at odds with most of the rest of the country, which has a pronounced decline of traditional elite representation. Until 2011, the majority of MLAs belonged to the upper castes (mostly Brahmins and Kayasthas).
It is hard to get a precise sense of what portion of the general population are upper caste. But quick arithmetic based on what is known about other groups place the general category population somewhere between 30% to 35% of the total population. But not all of them are members of the upper castes, since some backward castes do not get classified as Other Backward Classes in West Bengal.
The rise of the Trinamool Congress brought a...
