While there is no empirical evidence to determine if the micro-level campaign has been successful with women, sociologists and election analysts say that women expect some material assurances, too. “Touching feet, giving kum kum are all traditional practices of a family that are usually witnessed during auspicious and inauspicious situations such as birth, death, marriage and puberty ceremonies. By reinforcing these practices, the party wants to believe they can propagate their ideology within everyone which will, in turn, translate into a vote,” says Professor E Venkatesu from the Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad. They believe every house, every ward and every person must be touched by the party’s beliefs, Venkatesu says. He believes that the BJP has not been able to secure votes by raking up issues such as Ayodhya in South India. “Hence, they are resorting to micro-level campaigns by using existing traditional practices, a big deal to people down South. Whether it will convert into an effective vote bank for long is a thousand-dollar question,” he adds.