Send message to Authors

Paper short abstract:

Elections in Delhi reveal a development dilemma, with voters being swayed by "freebies" and abrupt upgrades. This essay urges a change to sustainable development by highlighting the discrepancy between the promises and realities for underserved communities through the use of visual storyboards.

Paper long abstract:

With an emphasis on "freebie politics" and spontaneous, performative development projects during election seasons, this paper analyses Delhi's elections through a lens of a development crisis. These acts cause a crisis of sustainability, governance, and inclusivity even though they are frequently presented as welfare measures. Promises and their long-term effects on underprivileged populations diverge, exposing serious shortcomings in tackling structural developmental issues such urban housing, pollution, and education.

The lived experiences of Delhi's voters, especially those from underrepresented communities, are documented in this paper using Visual Storyboards as a methodological tool. It depicts the nuanced ways in which they deal with the disparities that are maintained by these temporary fixes while navigating the promises of election-driven progress. The banality of election-season progress can be effectively critiqued using visual narratives, which highlight the importance of reflexivity, agency, and ethical governance in developmental research.

This study places Delhi's election politics in the larger context of sustainable development, emphasizing the power of visual storytelling to challenge long-standing stereotypes and elevate underrepresented perspectives. This study advances a more nuanced view of governance, accountability, and equity by redefining elections as a development crisis. It also shows how collaborative, co-produced visual approaches may spur meaningful change in the field of development studies.