The Dynamics of Indian Political Factions: A Study of District Councils in the State of Maharashtra

This study constitutes an analysis of factionalism between rival groups in the dominant Congress Party in Maharashtra. The principal question examined is whether a politician's decision to oppose or 'rebel against' party authority is determined or can be predicted by certain characteristics of the individual concerned and his environment (e.g. the amount of land he owns, or the level of education, urbanization, prosperity, etc., of the area in which he operates politically). About 160 Congress Party members on four district councils were interviewed, and their answers provided the main source of information for the analysis. The legally defined jurisdiction of the district councils is rural Maharashtra, and the political factions examined thus operate in a rural milieu.