Podcast: Corruption, Southern Politics; and Ruchir Sharma Reflects on 25 Years on the Campaign Trail

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Updated: Apr 24, 2020 16:58 IST

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan Vaishnav (Director of the South Asia programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) sits down with Reuben Abraham (CEO and senior fellow at the IDFC Institute in Mumbai).

A Kerala native who has lived and worked in Hyderabad and now calls Mumbai home, Reuben talks to Milan about the electoral salience of corruption, alliance politics, and recent political developments in southern India.

Then, Milan tunes in with author, columnist and investor Ruchir Sharma to discuss his new book Democracy on the Road: A 25 Year Journey Through India.

For the past 25 years, Ruchir has been spending at least one week every year on the campaign trail in India.

In their conversation, Ruchir recounts his run-ins with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Gandhi family, and other prominent politicians. He also reflects on some of the deeper drivers of voter behaviour, from economic growth to caste and constituency service.