Analyzing Party Competition in Uttar Pradesh: A Spatial Study of the 2022 Legislative Assembly Election

Abstract

The Present study seeks to develop a framework for evaluating competition among political parties inside the Indian multi-party system. This paper’s method effectively illustrates the spatial dynamics of party Competition within the Indian context. The electoral system in Uttar Pradesh transformed in the 1990s from a one-party dominance to a multiparty system. However, it is increasingly shifting towards a two-party dominance, primarily centred around the BJP and SP alliances, with other parties assuming a marginal role. This paper addresses the subject of party competitiveness. It emphasises the level of competitiveness among parties and the characteristics of the constituency regarding strong bipartism, weak bipartism, and multipartism. The margin of victory within this category exhibited a normal distribution, indicating that the majority of constituencies experienced intense competition, followed by those with moderate intensity, and a few with low competition.