Abstract

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections in India reaffirmed the deep entanglement of caste with electoral politics. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic mandate the role of caste alliances mobilizations and shifting political loyalties was central to the election outcomes. This paper examines how caste influenced voter behavior and party strategies in 2019 drawing on secondary data field reports and academic analyses. It highlights the consolidation of non-dominant caste groups the BJP’s expansion into regions traditionally dominated by caste-based parties and the decline of older caste mobilization strategies. The study argues that while 2019 represented a moment of nationalist consolidation caste remained a crucial determinant of electoral behavior albeit in transformed ways.