THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-January 6, 2017- Topic 1

A mid-term referendum

Coming as it does barely a few months beyond the halfway mark of the BJP-led government at the Centre, the importance of the round of Assembly elections notified this week cannot be overstated. With votes scheduled to be cast in phases starting February 4 in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand, counting will take place on March 11. 

Since the process of federalisation and regionalisation of the polity deepened in the 1990s, Assembly election results have been determined more often by regional issues than by national political variables. But with Prime Minister Narendra Modi having emerged as the BJP’s principal vote-bagger, and with subjects such as demonetisation on the election agenda, this round will be influenced by national issues. A sidelight of the election schedule is the Union budget, advanced to February 1 from the traditional February 28 presentation. The Election Commission is still to rule on the Opposition demand that the Budget be unveiled after the polling.

Early indications from U.P. point to a tripartite contest among the Samajwadi Party, the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Both Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati are bracing themselves to check the Modi wave of the 2014 parliamentary elections. By leading an internal revolt against the old guard associated with the politics of identity and muscle power in the SP, Akhilesh Yadav has sought to project himself as being committed to development above all, thereby seeking to counter the BJP’s rise since 2014 on the same appeal. Ms. Mayawati had lost a considerable chunk of her Dalit support base in 2014, but has since re-framed her outreach by attempting to forge a Dalit-Muslim alliance. Her strategy will face a test, as the earlier phases of the State elections are in western U.P. that saw stark communal polarisation in 2014 in the wake of the Muzaffarnagar violence. In Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine will be in a keen fight in another tripartite contest, against the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. The latter had thrown down the gauntlet in 2014 by clinching four Lok Sabha seats out of the 13. In Uttarakhand, the Congress will be tested by the BJP after its State government was restored to power by the courts in 2016 following a spell of President’s Rule. In Manipur, its government has staked its chances on the decision to create new districts that precipitated a renewed ethnic crisis. Goa, in the recent past, has had a volatile Assembly, and the AAP’s focus on the State has ignited the fray. Together, the results will have strong reverberations at the national level.

Vocabulary

Overstated: express or state too strongly.

Example: I may have overstated my case to make my point

Synonyms: exaggerate, overdo, overemphasize, overplay, dramatize

Sidelight: a light placed at the side of something.

Example: He in turn confers with Geronimo, the local stage tech and they work something out with sidelights .

Unveiled: remove a veil or covering from, especially uncover a new monument or work of art as part of a public ceremony.

Example: The mayor unveiled a plaque

Tripartite: consisting of three parts.

Example: A tripartite classification

Bracing: fresh and invigorating.

Example: The bracing sea air

Synonyms: invigorating, refreshing, stimulating, energizing

Chunk: a thick, solid piece of something.

Example: Huge chunks of masonry littered the street

Synonyms: lump, hunk, wedge, block, slab, square, nugget

Outreach: the extent or length of reaching out.

Example: But we should be worried about this, at least if we're to be measured by our impact and outreach 

Forge: produce a copy or imitation of a document, signature, banknote, or work or art for the purpose of deception.

Example: The plaintiff could easily have forged her partner's signature to it.

Synonyms: fake, falsify, counterfeit, copy, imitate, reproduce, replicate

Stark: severe or bare in appearance or outline.

Example: The ridge formed a stark silhouette against the sky

Synonyms: sharp, sharply defined, well-focused, crisp, distinct, obvious

Gauntlet: a stout glove with a long loose wrist.

Example: He wore a skin tight black muscle shirt, thick black jean pants, and gauntlets with open fingers.

Precipitate: done, made, or acting suddenly or without careful consideration.

Example: I must apologize for my staff—their actions were precipitate

Synonyms: hasty, overhasty, rash, hurried, rushed, impetuous, impulsive, spur-of-the-moment

Volatile: liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse.

Example: The political situation was becoming more volatile

Synonyms: tense, strained, fraught, uneasy, uncomfortable, charged

Fray: a situation of intense activity, typically one incorporating an element of aggression or competition.

Example: Nineteen companies intend to bid for the contract, with three more expected to enter the fray

Reverberation: prolongation of a sound.

Example: Electronic effects have been added, such as echo and reverberation

Synonyms: resonance, echo, echoing, re-echoing, resounding