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