海角大神

Last month, members of India鈥檚 ruling Congress Party did something unprecedented: They voted in a primary in their parliamentary constituencies.

Primaries are an integral part of US politics. But in India, where听party leaders usually pick candidates听and a constituency听seat听is often passed from father to son, primaries are a novel experiment 鈥� and one of several American elements听spicing up this year鈥檚听election season.听Voting for the 545-member national parliament began听Monday听and runs through听May 12.

These US-style imports include fundraising dinners, aggressive social media and online marketing, and a distinctly presidential slant to the promotion of听the opposition鈥檚听prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.听India鈥檚 actual president, a largely ceremonial role, is chosen via an electoral college.听

Indian听political听parties听rarely听anoint their prime ministerial candidates听in advance of听elections. Yet Mr. Modi鈥檚 face dominates the听Bharatiya Janata Party鈥檚听banners 鈥撎齩ften to the exclusion of other senior leaders, stirring internal grumbling.

Last month the party changed its slogan from 鈥淎bki bar, BJP sarkar鈥� ("This time, the BJP government") to 鈥淎bki bar, Modi sarkar鈥� ("This time, Modi鈥檚 government"). And听similar to听an American presidential candidate, Modi has his own back-office campaign team.

鈥淭his is the first time that you see an entire campaign of a political party centered on one leader, which even some party leaders are uncomfortable with,鈥� says Sanjay Kumar, director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi. 鈥淭he election has become almost a referendum: either you want Modi or don鈥檛 want Modi.鈥�

Personalized campaign

Many point out that the Congress鈥檚 Gandhi family has previously听spawned听quasi-presidential leaders 鈥� including Indira Gandhi,听who served as prime minister between 1966 and 1977 and again from 1980 to 1984.听Voters at the time had听no doubt听that she听would be the prime minister听in the event of a Congress victory at the polls. But 鈥渆ven at the peak of Indira Gandhi鈥檚 regime, the political campaign was not so personalized,鈥� Mr. Kumar says.

Behind the promotion of Modi as leader-in-waiting is听the rise of media-driven campaigns.听Mass media political marketing has been increasing since the early 1990s and tracks the explosion of foreign and private TV channels. This election has seen听parties borrowing from the 2008 US presidential campaign in their use of social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Google Hangouts to connect with younger voters.

The idea that media campaigns can persuade Indian voters or influence the outcome of an election is influenced by the US model, says Arvind Rajagopal, professor of media studies at New York University, in an email interview.

But the jury is still out. In 2004, the then-ruling BJP ran for reelection on an "India Shining" ad blitz to promote their achievements 鈥� and was soundly defeated at the polls.听

"This election will reveal how influential social media, and indeed the unprecedented media blitz, can be,鈥� says Mr. Rajagopal.听

Confessional party politics

Rajagopal, who has written extensively on Indian media and politics,听sees a larger shift in Indian politics toward an American party model, in which parties are "confessional" and mostly reflect or express the ideological convictions of their constituents. In India, parties are also populist and "clientelist" 鈥� routinely exchanging concrete benefits for political support.听

A shift toward an American party model is bad news for the Congress Party, he adds, 鈥渟ince it is patently a big tent rather than a confessional party.鈥�

If presidential politics and听lavish听media campaigns are viewed with some disfavor here, the experiment with听party听primaries and fundraisers may听get more traction. India鈥檚 newest party, the AAP, hosted a dinner in Bangalore last month for 250 people at $320 a plate. The names of donors were also published in keeping with the party鈥檚 stated commitment to transparency in election funding.

The primaries听represent听an attempt by the Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi, to promote greater internal democracy in a party seen as dynastic,听not least when it comes to his own family. A small group of party workers and members听were recently asked听to choose their听parliamentary听candidate in 15 constituencies.听

Despite Mr. Gandhi鈥檚 intentions, the primaries didn鈥檛 all go smoothly 鈥� some party leaders initially refused to听take part, and in Vadodara, a city in western India, the winner of the Congress primary was replaced with a senior leader once Modi announced that he was standing there.

Level playing field

Even in some of the other contests, the process wasn鈥檛 as democratic as the candidates would have liked. Rajeev Gowda, an academic and politician who stood in a four-way primary in听North Bangalore, came away bruised. While a relative newcomer to electoral politics, Mr. Gowda was a strong candidate on paper: He teaches at Bangalore's elite听Indian Institute of Management, serves as a state spokesman for the party, and comes from a political family.听

He also has a track record of civic activism. 鈥淚 took it seriously, put in the work in the constituency,鈥� he said, 鈥渟o the results were a major let down.鈥�

Gowda placed second by a large margin 鈥� unfairly, he suggests. Many party voters told him they had to follow the instructions of the local party bigwigs. 鈥淲hat the newspapers said about the primaries is that the high command [in Delhi] gets replaces by the low command [local powers],鈥� he says. 鈥淔or someone like me who was expecting a level playing field, that expectation did not turn out to be realistic.鈥�

Still, Gowda reckons primaries can open the way for new talent. For now, most candidates are backed by local party bosses, so newcomers face long odds. 鈥淏ut in a couple more rounds, people might exercise their own choice.鈥�