THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 7, 2016- Topic 2

Jayalalithaa, 1948-2016 (Part- 2)

The haughty aloofness of the years in power was replaced by a refreshingly accommodative nature, enabling her to stitch together a brand new alliance with smaller parties such as the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Bharatiya Janata Party for the 1998 Lok Sabha election. The sheer arithmetic of the alliance gave it a majority of the seats, pitchforking Jayalalithaa back into a game that she seemed well out of. 

At the Central level, her comeback bore a resemblance to the Narasimha Rao years: this time it was the BJP-led government that was wholly dependent on her support for survival. However, Jayalalithaa squandered this opportunity by insisting that the Centre dismiss the DMK government in the State. Evidently, she had not factored in the Bommai judgment of the Supreme Court that had made arbitrary use of Article 356 almost impossible. The end result was the premature dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 1999, and the formation of an unlikely alliance between her arch-rival, the DMK, and her closest ideological ally, the BJP, which eventually defeated the AIADMK-led alliance. Once again, the hard-fought gains of the years in the opposition were frittered away. Without power in either New Delhi or Chennai, Jayalalithaa went back to the old familiar way of building a new alliance in 2001. The Congress and its breakaway group, the Tamil Maanila Congress, which owed its nascence to opposition within the Congress to an alliance with the AIADMK, were now roped in, along with the Left parties, which were fighting the Congress in Kerala. Although the DMK did not suffer majorly from any anti-incumbency sentiment, the AIADMK-led alliance won on the strength of electoral arithmetic. Jayalalithaa’s propensity to drive away friends was more than matched by her ability to bring together foes.

Her political successes were challenged by legal setbacks. Jayalalithaa was unseated twice: in 2001 the Supreme Court ruled she could not continue as Chief Minister when she stood disqualified from contesting in an election. But she got her conviction overturned and returned as Chief Minister after winning a by-election. In 2014 she was convicted by a trial court in the disproportionate assets case. But she was back as Chief Minister after winning an appeal in the Karnataka High Court. The case is now awaiting a judgment in the Supreme Court following an appeal. Jayalalithaa took ill after one of her most remarkable wins in the 2016 Assembly election, following up on her 2014 Lok Sabha win, both achieved without the benefit of allies, thanks to a divided opposition.

Like MGR before her, Jayalalithaa commanded the unflinching loyalty, even adulation, of her party supporters. From the time she was admitted in hospital, tens of thousands had gathered outside praying for her. The AIADMK enjoys a comfortable majority in the House, and the transition to a government headed by the new leader has been smooth. But Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam now has the unenviable task of holding the party together. Without the political acumen and personal charisma of Jayalalithaa, this will be a tough task.

Vocabulary

Haughty: arrogantly superior and disdainful.

Example: A look of haughty disdain

Synonyms: proud, arrogant, vain, conceited, snobbish, superior, self-important

Resemblance: the state of resembling or being alike.

Example: They bear some resemblance to Italian figurines

Squandered: waste (something, especially money or time) in a reckless and foolish manner.

Example: Entrepreneurs squander their profits on expensive cars

Synonyms: waste, misspend, misuse, throw away, fritter away, spend recklessly

Frittered: waste time, money, or energy on trifling matters.

Example: I wish we hadn't frittered the money away so easily

Synonyms: squander, waste, misuse, misspend, dissipate, overspend

Incumbency: the holding of an office or the period during which one is held.

Example: His chief advantage is his incumbency and its inherent command of the free-media forum that will be pivotal over the next eight weeks

Propensity: an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way.

Example: A propensity for violence

Synonyms: tendency, inclination, predisposition, proneness, proclivity, readiness

Commanded: give an authoritative order.

Example: A gruff voice commanded us to enter

Synonyms: order, tell, direct, instruct, call on, require, bid

Unflinching: not showing fear or hesitation in the face of danger or difficulty.

Example: He has shown unflinching determination throughout the campaign

Synonyms: determined, single-minded, dogged, steadfast, solid, resolved,  resolute

Unenviable: difficult, undesirable, or unpleasant.

Example: He had the unenviable task of trying to reconcile their disparate interests

Synonyms: disagreeable, nasty, unpleasant, undesirable, unfortunate, unlucky

Acumen: the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain.

Example: Business acumen

Synonyms: astuteness, shrewdness, acuity, sharpness,  cleverness