Abstract

The published literature reviewed indicates that the subject of current research has remained away from scholarly focus. The existing academic literature shows that studies on electoral politics largely focused on social and political determinants of voting behavior. The current study explains that socio-historical material trajectory of the voting process. This has been continuously shaping a set of dispositions of people through the continued interplay of base structure and superstructure, which have a deep impact on voter choice formation. These dispositions formulate a neoliberal habitus and shape electoral choices of voters controlled by superstructural forces who control the process of elections. The present study aimed at investigating the dynamics of voters’ choices. Why do voters vote? This is a key research question that has been explored in this paper. This research focuses on issues in which even electoral systems are operating, and these systems are manufacturing voting choices. The relationship of base structure and superstructures are the major framework that determines the behaviour of voters in the larger electoral process.  This is qualitative and theoretical study, and evidence have been taken from Hazara and Pothohar regions of Pakistan.

Key Words

Election, Politics, Sociology, Vote, Pakistan

Introduction

The published literature reviewed indicated that the subject of current research had remained away from scholarly focus. A critical review of the existing academic literature shows that studies on electoral politics largely focused on social and political determinants of voting behavior. However, less attention has been given to the study of voter representation relationship evolving in rapid structural shifts causing consent manufacturing. The current study explains that socio-historical material trajectory of the voting process. This has been continuously shaping set of dispositions of people through the continued interplay of base structure and superstructure which have a deep impact on voter choice formation. These dispositions formulate a neoliberal habitus and shape electoral choices of voters controlled by superstructural forces who control the process of elections.  The dependent nature of voter agency has also been crucial pivot of the electoral habitus of this region. The subordinate masses express voting choices under the compulsion of a selective responsive hybrid state. Therefore, subordinate masses seek representation for effective navigation in the wake of rapid rural urbanization. In the short selective responsive everyday state has been a significant feature of the dominant political order of hybrid form. As a result subordinate consciousness push for politics of common sense through patronage networks to access the everyday state. 

Some scholars focused on sub-ordination in terms of ‘hourglass’ (Richard Rose, 1995) society where state and people have minimum institutional links, and people have a casual exercise of voting (Waseem, 2006). He asserts that the overall democratic process in the country remained hobbled. On the one hand, due to direct military governments and indirectly managed elections and fabricated results, the political values and understanding could not flourish much in the country, and on the other hand, the subject of political behavior in general and electoral behavior, in particular, have got far less scholarly attention. Simultaneously, political parties also lack the same democratic values. Mainstream parties of the country are limited to families. Thus a common man is not practically represented even in the political parties.

The common people of the country are facing challenges and multiple socioeconomic problems, for instance, law and order, poverty, inflation, unemployment, education, and health. The government – elected by the people – has to resolve these problems and to take the country ahead. Therefore the scholar assumes that voter, being the pivot of the electoral process, needs to be investigated in order to find how he/she decides whom to vote. To know the present voting behavior and its dynamics is therefore significant. 

Theoretical Framework

The study of voting behaviour has been subject to theoretical discourse. There are three major schools. School of Columbia, also known as the Sociological Model (1944) consisted of Lazarsfeld, Berelson, & Gaudet. They argued that 'social groups to which voters belong to have the most decisive influence on voting behaviour. The researchers, conducting research at Ohio State (Erie County) on U.S. presidential elections of 1940, enquired 600 voters as a sample population through an interview for seven times during seven months election campaign. It was found that only 54 voters changed their original 'predisposition'. The effect of media was found negligible, and the voters changed their positions because of the pressure from members of their respective groups, not because of any calculation (Antunes, 2010). He concludes that the choice of voters is the result of group cohesion instead of the individual act: “……… that people vote, not only with their social group, but also for it”.( Lazarsfeld, Berelson, &Gaudet, 1944). However, the sociological model faced certain limitations like; to explain the question; why a person votes differently from members of the group he belongs to due to either reason and that if there were 'strong brand loyalties' of voters with 'social groups' then how electoral behaviour changes from one election to another election.  

Campbell, Gurin, and Miller in 1960, introduced the Psychosocial Model, also known as the School of Michigan. According to the model, 'partisanship' is the dominant factor to voting action. Partisanship is acquired through socialization in the influence of values and attitudes of family, comrades, and peers. The psychosocial model takes the voting action as resultant of contribution by various events around termed as 'funnel of casualty' with 'distal factors' (as socioeconomic and historical factors, values and attitudes of groups, ethnicity, race, region and religion etc.) and 'proximal factors' (as issues, candidate evaluation, campaigns and finally voting action). Finding answer to the questions rose on 'sociological model' that a how voter votes differently from the social group he belongs to, the 'psychosocial model' expands the like-mindedness of voter with social groups which translate into party affiliation, enabling him to evaluate the candidate on the basis of the campaign and other 'proximal factors' culminate on voting action. Thus this model considers 'partisanship' as the influencing factor in voting behaviour. 

However, there are such voters who vote to a party other than the party he is affiliated with, and misalignment takes place. This misalignment takes place due to the 'proximal factors' when the voters change their voting decision on certain calculations. Such aspects emerged as the limitations of the 'psychosocial model', which led to yet another theory to explain voting behaviour known as 'rational choice theory (Antunes, 2010).

Anthony Downs in 1957 presented Rational Choice Theory to explain voting behaviour in "An Economic Theory of Democracy". The theory establishes an analogy between consumer and voter, and between enterprises and political parties. The way enterprises maximize the benefit and the consumer maximize the utility, it has been theorized that political parties act to maximize electoral gains through their electoral agenda proposals and the voters seek maximization of utility out of voting. (Anthony Downs, 1957).

In the present study, literature on voting behaviour both of Pakistani voters as well as of voters belonging to other parts of the world has been reviewed. The review has been arranged in six sections in a manner in accordance with the theoretical models i.e. Sociological Model (1944), Psychosocial Model (1960), and Rational Choice Theory (1957). 

The empirical analysis of the study indicates that dependent voter agency in hybrid regime tends to commodify social as well as political factors to negotiate with selective responsive post-modern state. Therefore, the present research focuses on dialectics of “order and change” by implying theoretical concepts such as electoral habitus and politics of common sense. In this way, the current thesis has attempted to analyze all the elements of superstructure such as consciousness, ideology, and culture that determine electoral common sense resulting into voters’ consent manufacturing. Whereby, voter (subjective assumption) seeks connection with objective socio-political structure (representation) to optimize access with selectively responsive fragmented state in the context of postmodernist subjectivity-objectivity dialogue. The methodology utilized the case study method to analyze the core research questions: why voter seek representation? What are those factors that determine voter's alignment with particular representative? The voters contact with possible representatives and political party is the outcome of election campaigns and specific dialectics of coercion and consent. Further, this research explored how bourgeoisie (urban middle-class subjectivities) persuasive power led to electoral subjugation of base structure in a cyclical manner by common sense knowledge of subordinate masses. The study found that hegemonic politics of common-sense resulted into cycles of electocracy in the Pothohar region. The increasing politicized voter tended to commodify all critical political factors like party identification, issue orientation, and patronage orientation in an urbanized socio-political environment. However, the commodification of these factors alone fell short of a deeper explanation of voters' choice manufacturing process. The political interplay of all political parties depicted lack of mass contact at grass root even in urbanized Pothohar and Hazara regions. The factors included that parties remain leader oriented instead of cadre-oriented. The common pattern of mobilization strategies of political parties were through emergent broker patrons in transforming the socioeconomic landscape. It indicates that an inherent authoritarian cultural norm keeps even party organizations weak even in the urbanized environment. Though the shifts in urban norms created some pretensions of individual citizenship, cultural norms and bourgeois ideological and cultural norms direction continue to shape ideological consent of the masses. The bourgeois political hegemony over cultural norms and ideological cult determines the manufacturing of ideological consent of subordinate masses. The Gramscian concept of ideological hegemony explains how super-structural elements such as ideology, consciousness, and culture determine the nature and scope of electoral choices. Thus, the study tried to analyze factors that organize the consciousness of subordinate masses in voter representation relationship.




Superstructure and Voters Choice




The superstructure of electoral representation grows out of the base (voters) and provide electoral legitimacy to the ruling class' interests. Superstructure determines how the base (voting choices) operates and secure electoral consent. Further, it explores how bourgeoisie persuasive power leads to electoral subjugation of base structure in a cyclical manner by common sense politics. While politics of common sense have assumed hegemonic character resulting into electocracy. The representation embedded in respective electoral habitus push voters to bargain with local, national, and even international networks of interaction in neo-liberal environment. The pattern of alignment with representation demonstrates that contemporary vote choice offers a wider scope of navigation with a selective responsive everyday state. While voters struggle with dialectics of coercion and consent tend to find ways to negotiate with power hierarchy in a hybrid regime. The imagined vote choice is devised in urban spatiality through commodifying various socio-political factors for effective navigation of everyday state. While mapping patronage as a way of bending or suspending procedures by a bureaucracy that brings them close to representatives who look for patronage dispensation. Additionally, career bureaucrats seek political patrons to protect their interests put them in a symbiotic relationship with representatives. Thus, bureaucrats are judged on their political leanings. Those who are considered loyal to opposition parties are given awkward postings or sidelined. Consequently, hegemonic patronage political order has eroded institutional capacity to formulate and implement policy to address national development needs. The fragmented institutional working scheme further deteriorate universal service delivery that contributes to electoral volatility in successive elections. The empirical evidence of study indicates that paradoxes inherent in voter representation dialectics push voters to bargain with representatives for effective navigation of state. The vertical power structure of the state is the essence of voter representative dialectical contradiction. Meanwhile, various thin connections are structured on popular socio-historical norms, such as favoring selective people as the dominant pattern. Therefore, rings of social networks are built around kinship, biradaries, religious and class-based identities. Therefore, such networks are thriving to consolidate large patronage-based political order even in urban horizon. 

Power Structure as Dialectical Unity

The empirical analysis unfolds connection with power structure is dialectical unity. State and society constitute mutually re-enforcing sides in the electoral arena. It is also known as integral state. The history of colonial state strategic reification of parochial identities was an instrument of manipulation to create hierarchical social order. It forced native people to seek advantages from colonial rulers as the logic of stable rule. Thus, patronage attained central piece of political order as a legacy of colonial socioeconomic engineering. Meanwhile, its politicization across society have long been shaping ways to negotiate with the everyday state. The findings reveal exclusionary political-economic order and reassertion of hegemonic patronage politics occupying a central place in the electoral politics of Hazara and Pothohar. In short, the resilient, unequal and unjust power structure drive subordinate masses embracing politics of common sense to negotiate their way to distant power structure rather than defying it. 

…..Subalterns come to see the hierarchies of the world they inhabit as inevitable and inescapable. They may not like their subordination, but they cannot see how things could possibly be other than as they are. (Crehan, Kate, 2013) 

The empirical analysis argues that common sense cannot be comprehended as system signs or cultural symbols. Contrary, it is existing world view that is embedded in the historically constituted structures of capitalist modernity and politics within continuous structural shifts. The determinants of social power are linked to capitalist modernity, increased penetration of state into social life and spread of electoral political dynamics penetrating deep down at local level. The fundamental structure of state determines capitalist exchange through production relations within social and political exchange. The prevailing local grass-root level official procedures and processes orient voter to engage into the political exchange with specific electoral choices. Hence, a popular element of common-sense knowledge is the institutionalization principle of personalization of power in every nook and corner of Pakistan as dominant logic in official interactions. Intercession and bribery (Sifarish and Rishwat) are common denominators of interacting with the state. It receives scant attention in dominant discourse and is mostly attributed to cultural degeneration. Thus, there is no meaningful interrogation of underlying causes of this complexity. Thus, it is rooted in structural transformation shaping dominant modes of operations rather than explaining it through cultural arguments. 

The sub-question arises how the shift has taken place from expansive national issues to localized cleavages that steadily crept into electoral politics. Therefore, this process of localizing politics through the deepening of the local version of election marks a shift of focus to everyday politics. The localization of politics shifts away from confrontation with dominant groups towards implicit acceptance of the organized power of dominant actors. Even the strong ascribed alignments no longer determine voter choice as it appeared in dated literature.  Instead, apparent vote for a local leader that seems kinship factor, in contrast, it is part of kinship commodification for networking to navigate everyday state. However, determining factors are now grounded in constantly evolving electoral habitus. In this way candidate's influence is now linked to the reliability of a multi-dimensional patronage network by delivering wider demands. The subsequent centrality of low bureaucracy for this process of localization has also assumed significance in rapid rural urbanization in Pothohar. The subordinate masses interact with low bureaucracy in a personalized manner due to shared socioeconomic backgrounds. However, at times the coercive and highly oppressive posture of lower bureaucracy generates consent through coercion. The double-edged patronage-based political order creates a political arena with the dialectic of consent and coercion by determining voter representation relationship.

The quantitative-qualitative micro-level analysis of state operations offers vivid evidences of the grass-root complex power structure in everyday negotiations. In addition, unjust and exclusionary social order derives benefits from dominant representation. However, occasional cynicism against higher bureaucracy is strategically diverted against lower-level bureaucracy. Instead, the field survey responses revealed that the general lack of public interest at lower-level bureaucracy is in effect trickledown effect of their higher rank bureaucrats.  The respondent's perception shows that higher-rank bureaucracy use state resources against the principle of trust of people. Ever since colonial raj lowers, bureaucracy has been cog of statist project with structural persistence. The post-Zia period Weberian principle of legal-rational higher bureaucracy with an impression of rule-bound impersonalism, quickly, faded away in the lower rungs of bureaucracy as well. The social fabric replete with kinship, caste, and other social ties indicates shared background is frequently invoked in the official working of a hybrid state. However, impersonal rhetoric is occasionally exhibited at lower level to enforce impersonalism at the service of coercion. The lower bureaucracy carries out political exchange through money, which is not usually hidden from general view. Therefore, the frequent criticism on corruption is usually criticized by the urban middle class as potential political cleavage. A respondent in his interview during the survey maintained that rich do it secretly, but lower-grade officials do it frequently. It shows that give and take is dominant practice among ordinary masses to access selectively responsive state prepares the ground of common-sense politics. The bureaucracy requires pretension of honesty and uprightness in practice however, at lower-level state functions are devoid of such rule bound practices (Jeffery, 2013). In Bihar Lalu Prasad reinvents 'politics of corruption as a tool to rectify historical injustices perpetrated against subordinate masses (Jeffery, 2013). The selective group induction in State authorities is a conscious measure to thwart codified rules and regulations.( Witsoe, Jeffrey, 2013). Such practices of political exchange through lower or higher officials depict another version of common-sense politics typical political and cultural development. The seminal work on post-colonial Africa by Ekeh discusses two publics as the norm of reciprocity in personalized exchanges.(Ekeh, Peter, 2007) The colonizer's impersonal civic public sphere rhetorically propounded never internalized by ordinary people. The institutionalization of colonial legacy within the structure of power offers personal gain through deepening rent-seeking culture by none other than the post-colonial state itself. Whereas, the inaccessible character of state provides it wide resources to structure citizen-state relationship.  While mutually reinforcing state-society dialectics enforce and reinforce each other in the exclusionary political order. Therefore, the state must not be seen as something distinct from society. Individuals working within state apparatus are intricately tied to their human resource networks and determine their priorities through their network compulsions. Resultantly, entry into state apparatus must not be seen as service for general good but as a strategy of control over public resources for the private good of private networks.

The social order built through administrative apparatus of the state is a manifestation of state driven social engineering. The chain of authority creates an arena of political and cultural development steer process of subordinate masses' consent manufacturing. The dominant logic of patronage based political order is built around nativization of lower bureaucracy; it becomes the cornerstone of rapidly urbanizing state integral. It is, thus, dialectics of consent and coercion which is staged in election episode. Such dialectics facilitate voter bargain with representation to access selective responsive state through common-sense politics in Pothohar.

Electoral Alienation

In addition, the erstwhile voter categories were defined in four types, (Waseem, Mohammad, 1994); however, the present analyses have witnessed blurring distinction among different types of voters. It is maverick voter orientation that is taking over civic voter and primary voter characteristics. The structural shifts have oriented voter with typical political bargaining skills. Now voters commodify all types of identities, ideologies, and social capital to improve survival in mounting dependencies in fast growing rural urbanization as a new way of living. The voter quickly conclude that issues and policies are only political jargon. Thus, common sense political exchange consolidates patronage based political order. Consequently, it becomes part of electocracy to continuously secure consent from the masses. In such a way local matters assume central importance rather larger issues lose appeal and urgency. The study also unfolds power structure arrangements which continue to deepen inequalities at grass root level. Thus, electoral process becomes a cycle of elite strategies by granting legitimacy to representation without altering the status quo. 

Actually, it is a strategic process that prepares ground for patronage web (representatives and linking broker patrons) secure consent from the subordinate masses. The subordinate masses aspirations, beliefs, needs, and entire life is imbibed within lofty pledges of representatives. The representative performs the dual role of spreading bourgeois worldview and concept of representation within the dominant ideology of common-sense politics. It sets the direction of party politics making dominant common-sense politics the only viable way to access distant hybrid state. 

Such world view generates an encompassing ideology (Neo-liberal norms) determining dialectics of voter and representation in Potohar and Hazara region. In this way voter representation relationship becomes a functional instrument of control by bourgeois representation to obtain consent from subordinate masses. The rural urbanization has also been eroding potential collective consciousness among subordinate masses. Thus, the politics in urbanization leads to parties' struggle for power continuously undermining democratization in neo-liberal spectrum. Additionally, hybrid regime constantly reconfigure patronage politics in various ways. In this way, the cost of being out of patronage network amounts to the risk of defeat for representation and exclusion for voters. In short, the dialectic of coercion and consent shapes voter representation relationship in continuous cycles of electocracy. Thus, electoral process reveals that anti-thesis subjugate thesis and then reaches to synthesis. It is therefore, hybrid electoral process transcends rhetorical representation to instrument of voter subjugation. In addition, the dialectical process shows that protection of bourgeois interests shapes the politics of election. Therefore, fast-penetrating patronage politics in urbanized region exhibits uneven politics of elections. The frequent party defection at various levels has also been depicting fear of electoral loss in elections. Thus, patronage politics in urbanized regions hold substantial consequences such as electocracy and electoral volatility leading to a cycle of electoral oppression. Additionally, ever since colonial legacy in electoral history and geography has been shaping electoral habitus, politics of voting and party alignment. Consequently, such legacy result into cycles of oppression that grip voter representation relationship in consent manufacturing process. Therefore, the result of such dialectics of coercion and consent leads to cycles of electocracy and electoral volatility in periodical elections.

Demographic Shift and Choices Manufacturing

The demographic shift from rural to urban is rapidly influencing electoral choices. The rapid rural urbanization in few pockets of Potohar and Hazara regions with penetration of digital screen communication channels tended to reduce physical distance between urban and rural life. Consequently, there has been sharp diluting rural-urban divide and engendering rural urbanization with peculiar commodifying process. Thus, this unfolding process in the region prepared conducive ground for the spread of bourgeoisie hegemonic ideology to secure ideological consent from subordinate masses. The neo-liberal urban norms urged for quick elevation in socioeconomic status that determined electoral choices of the masses. The concept of hegemony explains form of domination, which can only sustain by exercising control over subordinate masses. Important question arises how to control subordinate masses for securing ideological consent. For Gramsci, hegemony is an ideological phenomenon and political fact. Therefore, ideological hegemony as intellectual and moral direction provides means to control over masses and hold power by bourgeois political elite. The thesis highlighted the spread of neo-liberal urban norms in Potohar and Hazara region, which contributed to voter choice manufacturing through corporate media. The subordinate sections' economic interests' articulation has increased competition over state resources due to rural urbanization. So, it is not rural-urban cleavage, I have argued and substantiated in this dissertation, that is determining voting choices but its competition among subordinate masses living under neo-liberal urban norms. This new environment pushed the subordinate masses to compete with each other in similar socioeconomic classes, enabling them to enter into ideological consent for extracting material gains. It is, therefore, reaffirming the scope of ideological hegemony that plays an important role in shaping voter choices in favor of a particular party due to prevailing norms in rural urbanization. In this word, the empirical evidence also indicates that voters' strong perception about only those candidates with distinct social capital (higher rank in party, family status, and kinship ties), who can increase chances of material gain became favorite. Further, voter commodification empowers to mediate and manage access with state institutions under the garb of candidates to secure consent from subordinate masses. Voters’ preference for such candidates who eventually elect party leadership with better chances to form government. 

The discussion on the delivery aspect of voters' choice is in line with John, who wrote that large votes would be for those who have been able to deliver well. (Jones, Philip Edward, 2003). Delivery is thus termed a source of power. The common perception popularized among subordinate masses that party connection would better serve than old parochial networks. Thus, patronage politics becomes deeper through profound transformation of the masses' consciousness. The bourgeois ideology is diffused and internalized by masses which becomes common sense knowledge of politics. 

Political Technology

It is also imperative to comprehend that dominant ideology is generated through wider political culture. Where all human activities are embedded in a particular conception of the world, thus, expressed through such conception. Such conception of the world plays out as praxis, which explains practical conscious activity as well. The historical validity is reflected in various human choices. It may be maintained that any dominant way to act is 'doxa’ of society with specific effects. Thus, for Gramsci historical importance of any popular expression is determined by historical facticity. (1971). Moreover, Gramsci emphasizes the intrinsic capacity of any notion to politicize and mobilize actions of large masses. It, thus, explains about lack of any absolute universal notion of world or weltanschauung by subordinate masses in a culturally disorganized society. Such plurality of weltanschauung entails a problem of manufactured consent through diffusion of common-sense politics. Marxist analysis offers criteria that how certain choice is developed and then diffused in a society. Accordingly, particular conception of world penetrates into masses with greater desire of material gain such as effective navigation of state. Thus, it popularizes such weltanschauung diffusion among subordinate masses. Secondly, its diffusion is facilitated by positions of authority in power structure, which is also subject to doubt and various interpretations. However, such interpretations are subordinate to the fundamental fact of group competitiveness, which increases receptivity of masses towards particular conception. Therefore, the diffusion of dominant common-sense ideology among subordinate masses elaborates validity of dominant criterion to access state. It is, therefore, a dominant class that organize control of system to ensure maintenance of hegemonic ideology. In this way, organic intellectuals (professionals, journalists, religious clerics, military retired officers, and businessmen) play a role to pacify counter-hegemonic ideas among subordinate masses through certain governmental mechanisms by various political technologies of inclusion and exclusion. These mechanisms represent the three pillars of hegemony as participation, partisanship, and ownership. Interestingly, elections provide a conducive condition when divergent interests of social groups are organized around a particular way of life through the electoral process. The political technologies and mechanisms tend to implement and deepen neoliberal norms. These governmental mechanisms shape hegemony within voter representation relationship to further deepen bourgeois domination. It also signifies that how rapid urbanization drive populist political leadership who universalize particular interests by dubbing it as the general interest of society. The interplay of political technologies tends to result in hegemony that deepens neoliberal norms to benefit dominant classes and institutions in resilient power structure. 

In sum, these mechanisms explain how privilege classes of society maintains particular conception of world by control over totality of social structure. A social group that controls power not by means of monopolizing means of production, coercion or administration but through more subtle processes of ideological hegemony by "historical bloc" in a polity. The "historical bloc" disseminates narratives and rhetoric to seek consent from subordinate masses to perpetuate a particular conception of the world as ideological hegemony. Thus, the domination of a particular group is exercised only through unconscious transformation of human conscious. Bourgeois conception of world or weltanschauung is diffused and internalized among masses as common-sense knowledge. Thus, rising urban middle class assumes bourgeois domination, essentially, becomes an ideological and cultural fact of a society.    




Patron Clientele Politics




The traces of history explain that the introduction of electoral politics in the colonial Punjab unleashed a process through which powers and privileges doled out upon loyalist allies of the colonizers. The 1883, Punjab district Board Act ushered new era of political patronage through representation. Through multiple types of representative platforms, district board, council of lieutenant governors, provincial legislative councils, and legislative assemblies provided opportunities to increase privileges of already powerful class. Hence, the present representation has further reinforced patronage networks as a way to access everyday state for multiple needs in urbanized way of living. 

The colonial experience of this region in the sub-continent included large military recruitment in British Indian Army especially post 1857 war. Whereas military service turned out effective means of gaining loyalties of vast subordinate local population by granting access with politico-administrative control. The colonial administration policy of patronage bestowed considerable opportunities upon these loyalists through entitlements of multiple kinds. These entitlements included land revenue administrative appointments, titles for war efforts, allotment of irrigated lands in different regions (Central and Southern Punjab and Sindh Provinces) etc. Such policy interventions elevated few people in the position of Honorary Magistrates and military officers turned them into power centers at grass root during the colonial period. The expansion of administrative set up further reinforced these powerful people by selective appointments in police and revenue department from loyalist biradaries/clans. The privileges and powerful positions were granted to such political loyalists successively over the generations since colonial times. This whole process created a web of patronage network where military connection offered them many powerful positions in colonial services. The result of this process paved the way for further connections with higher bureaucratic positions in the power hierarchy. The successive military intervention in the political process led them to expand space in wider power structure. In this way horizontal layer of patronage network at grass root level makes good use through connection with vertical layer of power structure. Thus, whole process led to manufacturing of wider political conscious of subordinate masses that linking with patronage network could avoid coercive sanction in case of resistance. As a result, the primary orientation of voter/agency evolved into a dependent one through dispositions of particular area. 




Information Production and Public Sphere




The rapid rural urbanization along with fast spreading communication technologies have led to uneven development of information production infrastructure. This unevenness has been at the foundation of selective responsive service delivery system of the state institutions. Even the fast-urbanizing Pothohar and Hazara regions witness unconscious transformation of subordinated masses’ conscious, which is contrary to general liberal democratic assumptions about voter autonomy in urban living. Thus, neo-liberal urbanization facilitates political exchange manifested in common-sense politics. In which the representative strategically facilitates access to voters within everyday selective responsive state in dialectical unity of power structure. Consequently, politics, parties and voting behavior centers on voter representation relationship. In such socio-political spectrum voter representation relationship appears as a response to viable political exchange. Thus, continuous dialectics of order and change keep pushing both voter as well as representative to entrench themselves into hierarchical power structure. These strategic interactions in effect become a field of political exchange with exponential growth of technology. In such a way the transformation of masses' consciousness leads to ideological consent manufacturing. 

In addition, structural shifts like gradual rise of institutional dominance of the military, waves of outward migration to Europe and some other parts (Gulf region), relocation of federal capital and rapid urbanization have resulted into reconfiguring new production relations by shaping electoral habitus of Potohar and Hazara region. Hence, vote choices in present times are shaped by various local, national and global influences are result of fast spreading neo-liberal norms. The vote choice making is determined by particular socio-political factors, while voter capacity has increased to commodify due to post-modern hybrid state. A study sheds light on multipronged transformations with fast penetration of corporate communication means and urban norms also provide wider arrangement of voter consent manufacturing process. 

Conclusion

The subordinate masses even in fast urbanization in both Potohar and Hazara region, the voters’ choice is being shaped by base-structure and superstructure along with a concept of mediated access based on the idea of subalternity. The constantly changing material conditions set out wider politics in fast urbanizing region, which has been continuously reinforcing particular electoral habitus with dependent voter agency. The key finding of the research indicates that politics of voting prepare ground for political parties contesting for representation by strategically cultivating horizontal patronage networks to win voter's consent within the bourgeois ideological conception. Because multiple shifts have been redefining the nature of voter representation relationship in neo-liberal urban living. The voter dependency on patronage networks has been the result of voter subjectivities reinforced due to selective responsive state service delivery. So, voting decision is not only influenced by visible factors but also influenced by many invisible factors that continuously manufacture them. These invisible factors are related to service delivery of state institutions in urban living that push voter representation into dialectics of coercion and consent. The electoral landscape bring voter into bargaining position with representation during the election period. The representation connects voters with promises and pledges of access to state. The state with complex power structure, which is full of contradictions and inherently incomplete in totality. My research findings further strengthen that line of scholarship which think of and define hegemony as a highly complex phenomenon existing at a number of asymmetric levels and dimensions of power structure (Cerny, Philip G, 2006) with historical bloc of power elite. Therefore, a difficulty lies in attempting to 'measure' hegemony. Because hegemony operates in layered sets of processes and procedures in the routine business of state. However, to avoid such complexity of hegemony in electoral process only such factors are identified that manufacture voter choices. Since hegemony is inherently contradictory, so it is contested and challenged in certain instances. Thus, the study has operationalized hegemony to analyze governmental mechanisms, which lead to patronage based political order. Even imperative of such governmental mechanisms are considered by parties in a selection of candidates. Therefore, political parties become candidate oriented rather than issue oriented. The urban expansion and compulsions of party politics further press stiff competition over securing position of patronage. The wider orientation even in urban area reinforce the common perception that policy preference is no piece of cake. Therefore, subordinate masses quickly adopt strategies to effectively navigate everyday state through patronage.

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