Electoral Accountability in Education: A Comparative Study of Educational Support/Scholarship Programmes of Odisha and West Bengal
Debajit Goswami and V Anil Kumar
Abstract
This paper explores the crucial aspects of promissory representation in India, particularly attempting to analyse the degree of electoral accountability in the domain of education, as manifested by the BJD (Biju Janata Dal) and TMC (Trinamool Congress), two incumbent regional parties in the states of Odisha and West Bengal. Political parties make numerous electoral pledges when contesting elections; however, after forming the government, there is a perceived lack of political will and effective policy formulations to fulfil the pledged promises, thus eroding the notion of electoral accountability.
This paper undertakes a survey research approach with the collection and analysis of responses from a sample of 200 beneficiaries of the educational accessories’ support / scholarship programmes (Gangadhar Meher Shiksha Manukbrudhi Yojana and Kanyashree Prakalpa) of the two states. By investigating the party’s degree of fulfilment of electoral pledges, and the consequent beneficiaries’ perception of the party’s accountability, this paper endeavours to provide insights on the relation between accountability in education, the degree of political awareness of voters and their consequential relation to the electoral accountability of parties. This in turn reflects the status of accountable governance in Odisha and West Bengal, from which broader generalisations may be drawn for the Indian context.