On fake news and communalised debates in Karnataka Away from the rallies, politicking, coalition talk and door-to-door campaigns, election coverage usually involves attempting to find a logical voting pattern in an otherwise unpredictable electorate. The Karnataka Assembly elections provided an opportunity to tour many parts of the State and ask voters the same set of questions on what they thought of the political situation or of specific issues. Answers to such questions generally help reporters strip away all assumptions on the ideals of a democracy. Often, the answer is: “I don’t know, I don’t think much about it.” Some merely follow the candidate or party choice of their husband, or village elders, or local/ religious leaders, or landowners, while the more candid ones point to money, caste and religious considerations in voting.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/an-election-eye-opener/article24694175.ece