Lokniti co-organized the launch of the book ‘Democratic Dynasties’ on 5th August,2016. The launch was followed by a panel discussion consisting of Salman Khurshid( Former External Affairs Minister), Niraja Gopal Jayal( Professor, JNU), Jayant Sinha( Minister of State, Civil Aviation) , Patrick French( Moderator) and the author herself.

The book relying on a twenty-first century dataset on Indian parliament makes a theoretical argument that dynastic politics is not antithetical to democracy. Contrary to perception, dynastic politics in democracies is a very ‘modern phenomenon’ as its roots lie in modern democratic institutions-the state and political parties. While dynasties require political parties to succeed, political parties nominate dynastic candidates to ensure loyalty in the absence of weak organizational structures. Thus, these ‘democratic dynasties’ do not have feudal, aristocratic roots but are products of the prevalent institutional conditions.

Lokniti co-organized a discussion of Sanjay Ruaprelia’s book ‘Divided We Govern’ on 8th August,2016. The panel consisted of Siddharth Vardarajan (Moderator) , Yogendra Yadav (Professor, CSDS) & Rekha Diwakar( Reader, University of Sussex) and the author.

The book offers a fresh perspective on ‘Left’ and Socialist politics in India, especially the three Non-Congress alternative coalitions they forged in 1977, 1989 & 1996. The book shifts the limelight on these coalition governments, political formations despised by India’s middle class and English media. The author while celebrating the achievements of these governments within the ‘grammar of governance’ attributes their failures to federal party system and poor political judgment. Political judgment, often neglected in our understanding of politics, assumes analytical salience to explain real world politics.