According to Rajni Kothari, where politics is mass-based, through wha…

The correct answer is Option (1) → Through the organisations in which the masses are already found

Option (1) Through the organisations in which the masses are already found — Correct. Kothari treats politics as the organisation and articulation of support. Where politics is mass-based, support must be organised through the bodies in which the masses already live, and in India caste is one of the main such clusters.

Option (2) Through new party units that draw the masses away from caste — Incorrect. Kothari does not ask politics to pull people away from caste. He holds that politics must organise through the caste structure, because that is where the bulk of the population is found.

Option (3) Through direct appeals by leaders to the masses as individual voters — Incorrect. Direct appeals to single voters skip the groups people belong to. For Kothari, support in mass politics flows through the organisations people already belong to.

Option (4) Through welfare schemes that bind the masses directly to the state — Incorrect. Welfare schemes linking people straight to the state are not part of his argument. His point is about how parties gather support, and that runs through groups and associations already present in society.