The Hammond Committee’s rules let caste Hindus steer who filled reserved seats

Evidence

After hearing out all views, the Hammond Committee ruled that the number four in the primaries panel is “neither a maximum nor a minimum, but an optimum”. It further ruled that “if there is only one candidate as the result of the primary election, or on account of subsequent withdrawals, that candidate should be returned unopposed for the reserved seat at the final election”. Another crucial decision was that the “primary election should take place two months before the final election”, thus providing ample scope for the caste Hindus to back their preferred Untouchable candidate. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1317

Categorization

• SHARE: For anyone following electoral-engineering and how supposedly protective institutions get hollowed out by sequencing and quorum rules.
• XREF: connects to: The Hammond Committee interpreted the panel of four as an optimum favoring caste Hindus; The ambiguous panel-of-four rule let caste Hindus capture reserved seats through pliable Untouchable nominees — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1313; Vote-allocation rules determined whether caste Hindus outnumbered or ignored Untouchable candidates. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1316 (+3 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: The Hammond Committee interpreted the panel of four as an optimum favoring caste Hindus; The ambiguous panel-of-four rule let caste Hindus capture reserved seats through pliable Untouchable nominees — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1313; Vote-allocation rules determined whether caste Hindus outnumbered or ignored Untouchable candidates. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1316 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• The ambiguous panel-of-four rule let caste Hindus capture reserved seats through pliable Untouchable nominees #expands (0.95) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1313