- We might think that elections are fought on money power and that the broader public doesn't agree with the politicians who are the one sowing discord. - The data however shows otherwise. The large majority of the Indians are aligned with what the politicians say. Elections are fought on these ideas. ---- one must accept that Indians care about ideas; ideas, in fact, are what elections in India are fought over, and dismissing them by saying that elections are fought over money, identity or ‘development’ alone is to miss the point entirely. - Rukmini Shrinivasan in [[Whole Numbers and Half Truths]] Among the most popular narratives about India is this one: despite poverty and apparent conservatism, Indians are at their core liberal and secular in their values, and it is political parties who appeal to their base instincts and trap them into narrow identities. Yet, for decades now, data has been telling us a markedly different story about the deepest—and darkest—thoughts of Indians. - Rukmini Shrinivasan in [[Whole Numbers and Half Truths]] A more honest assessment of Indian voting is probably this: Indian voters care about ideas, they are more ideologically committed than ever before, they care about people who embody some of these ideas - Rukmini Shrinivasan in [[Whole Numbers and Half Truths]]