THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-June 9, 2017- Topic 1
The next
President
Presidential
contests in India are usually tame and predictable, and 2017 does not promise
to be any different. To date, the election of V.V. Giri over Neelam Sanjiva
Reddy in 1969 remains the only notable exception to the long list of humdrum
presidential elections: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called for a “conscience
vote” just before the election, and a sizeable number of Congress
parliamentarians and legislators voted against the “official” candidate, Reddy,
in favour of Giri.
Before and after that, however, the favourites have carried
the day, with opposition-sponsored candidates putting up no more than a symbolic
fight to prove no more than a political point. At present, the numbers are
stacked against the opposition for the July 17 election. The Bharatiya Janata Party, with its regular allies and
new-found friends, should be able to see any non-controversial candidate
through. Parties such as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which do not see the BJP as a political threat, have
indicated their readiness to back a BJP-sponsored candidate. The Biju Janata
Dal too might not be opposed to taking such a course, although the BJP has
emerged as its main rival in Odisha. Unless the ruling party scares away all
its supporting parties by projecting a polarising candidate, the opposition
cannot expect to put up anything but a token fight.
Much might
revolve around the BJP’s choice of candidate. There have been instances when
allies have switched sides to vote for or against a particular candidate.
Regional considerations have weighed with some parties, as in 2007 when the
Shiv Sena voted for Pratibha Patil against Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the
candidate fielded by its ally, the BJP. The Sena and the Akalis are not
entirely happy with the BJP, but they would need a strong reason to break
ranks. That can come either in the form of an unacceptable BJP candidate or a
really appealing opposition candidate. Ideally, the Congress would like to wait
for the BJP to announce its candidate before revealing its own. But the process
of reaching out to other parties outside its core alliance has already begun.
The Congress can count on, besides current allies such as the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam, the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi
Party, the Left parties and the Trinamool Congress. But just as in the case of
the BJP, an alliance can be built or broken on the basis of the Congress’s
choice of candidate. The party might have in mind some eminent people not
directly involved in politics in order to appeal to a broader political
spectrum. What is certain is that there will be no consensus candidate. For the
BJP to not get its person of choice through as the next President, 2017 will
have to throw up an unexpected twist or a complete surprise.
Vocabulary
Tame: not
dangerous or frightened of people; domesticated.
Example: The fish
are so tame you have to push them away from your face mask
Synonyms: domesticated, domestic, docile, tamed, broken
Notable: worthy of
attention or notice; remarkable.
Example: The
gardens are notable for their collection of magnolias and camellias
Synonyms: noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding, important, significant
Humdrum: lacking
excitement or variety; dull; monotonous.
Example: Humdrum
routine work
Synonyms: mundane, dull, dreary, boring, tedious, monotonous
Stacked: arrange a
number of things in a pile, typically a neat one.
Example: The books
had been stacked up in three piles
Synonyms: heap up, pile up, make a heap/pile/stack
of, assemble
Readiness: the state
of being fully prepared for something.
Example: Your
muscles tense in readiness for action
Synonyms: preparedness, preparation
Eminent: famous
and respected within a particular sphere or profession.
Example: One of the
world's most eminent statisticians
Synonyms: illustrious, distinguished, renowned, esteemed, preeminent
Consensus: general
agreement.
Example: A
consensus of opinion among judges
Synonyms: agreement, harmony, concurrence, accord, unity
Scare: cause
great fear or nervousness in; frighten.
Example: The rapid
questions were designed to scare her into blurting out the truth
Synonyms: frighten, startle, alarm, terrify, petrify, intimidate
