000301561 001__ 301561
000301561 005__ 20240528110024.0
000301561 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1111/dech.12752
000301561 037__ $$aARTICLE
000301561 245__ $$aMunicipal councillors and the everyday state$$bnew representations of political accountability in Ahmedabad, India
000301561 269__ $$a2023
000301561 336__ $$aJournal Articles
000301561 520__ $$aScholarly literature on municipal councillors in urban India has variously labelled them as 'lords', 'captains' and 'shrewd operators' who have the power to mobilize resources and act as political intermediaries between the state and ordinary citizens. Conversely, voters are seen as collectively trading their votes to secure access to the state's resources. In this article, empirical fieldwork in the city of Ahmedabad, India, suggests that while traditional modes of patron–client relationships continue to exist at the municipal urban governance level, there has been a shift in the roles as perceived by municipal councillors themselves. The 'state at the roadside' model of urban governance is being expanded to include new modes and sites of mediation with citizens. Drawing from the literature on political representative claims and social representation theory, this article argues that the changes in the practices of municipal councillors are driven partly by political aspirations that are distinct from their identity as a party karyakarta (worker) and partly as a response to a better-informed citizenry, referred to as jagrukt janta (public awareness). These shifts create the conditions for new modes of civic engagement and political accountability within existing patronage-based networks.
000301561 580__ $$aIn: Development and Change. - Volume 54(2023), Issue 2, pages 331–354
000301561 6531_ $$aCities, Space and Geographies
000301561 6531_ $$aCivil Society
000301561 6531_ $$aDemocracy and Sovereignty
000301561 700__ $$aDas, Rusha
000301561 700__ $$aLutringer, Christine
000301561 8564_ $$94fd83a26-9cdc-47f4-a1d0-4d33d93ea7dd$$s258330$$uhttps://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/301561/files/AHCD_Municipal_Councillors.pdf
000301561 901__ $$uAlbert Hirschman Centre on Democracy
000301561 909CO $$ooai:repository.graduateinstitute.ch:301561$$pGLOBAL_SET$$pIHEID:Explore
000301561 981__ $$aoverwrite