ABSTRACT

The electoral decline of the organised Left in West Bengal politics has given rise to intellectual speculation about the increasing possibility of caste politics. In this context, this article investigates whether there is any merit in the claim that the electoral decline of the Left Front has paved the way for the rise of caste at the centre stage of mainstream electoral politics in West Bengal. It asks whether lower castes have started to mobilise politically in West Bengal in the same way as in many other states. The article argues against the claim of ‘a new politics of caste’ in West Bengal by showing that the electoral decline of the Left Front has not been accompanied by any rise in lower caste representation. In this context, the article also attempts to understand the reasons for the continuing non-politicisation of caste in West Bengal, revealing many factors relating to demography and political economy which don’t augur well for caste politics in West Bengal.

摘要

西孟加拉邦政治中有组织的左派在选举中的衰落引发了对种姓政治日益增加的可能性的智力猜测。在此背景下，本文探讨左翼阵线的选举衰落为种姓在西孟加拉邦主流选举政治的中心舞台崛起铺平道路的说法是否有任何道理。它询问西孟加拉邦的低种姓是否开始以与许多其他州相同的方式进行政治动员。这篇文章反对西孟加拉邦“新种姓政治”的主张，表明左翼阵线的选举衰落并未伴随着低种姓代表的任何上升。在此背景下，本文还试图了解西孟加拉邦种姓持续非政治化的原因，