Why was demonetisation so popular politically if it imposed economic costs? Specifically, why did demonetization turn out to be an electoral vote winner in the short-term (in the UP elections of 2017) if it imposed so much hardship on so many people? Many factors influence voters' perceptions and hence affect outcomes, rendering any attempt to tease out cause and effect as unreliable. At the time, the election in UP was widely seen as a verdict on demonetisation, arguably the salient policy action of the government, personally and forcefully articulated by the prime minister.

The demonetisation experiment speaks to the more pervasive and fascinating global phenomenon of What's the Matter with Kansas?, the title of a famous book by American historian Thomas Frank. This book explores the apparent paradox of citizens voting against their economic self-interest. For example, why do poor white males vote for the Republican Party and President Trump when the policy agenda either has no benefits to them (tax cuts for the rich) or is positively harmful (undermining Obamacare and welfare benefits more broadly)? That same question seemed relevant after the resounding victory of the NDA government in the UP election. This is an attempt to understand that result as a disinterested observer armed only with publicly known facts.