Routledge Urban Poverty, Local Governance and Everyday Politics

This academic work from Routledge provides a detailed look at the informal political patronage relations between the urban poor and service delivery organisations in Mumbai, India. As part of the Cities and the Urban Imperative series, the book examines the living conditions within slums and traces the extent of social and political exclusion faced by these communities. By looking at the roles of municipal councillors and slum-based mediators, the text identifies challenges in ground-level democracy. It explores how election candidates manage campaigns through private-sector funding and target specific vote banks with freebies. This study starts from social justice concerns to provide a clear picture of urban political dynamics and the realities of governance in one of India's largest cities.