THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-August 29, 2017- Topic 2

Nandyal for Naidu

Andhra CM should now focus on governance

In the absence of a driving issue, by-elections tend to favour ruling parties. The results of the current set of elections in Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Delhi thus held no big surprises. While the Telugu Desam Party won in Nandyal, the Bharatiya Janata Party won both Panaji and Valpoi in Goa, and the Aam Aadmi Party won in Bawana. 

In terms of political stakes, Panaji ranked quite high with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar among the contestants. But the verdict was all too predictable with the voters evidently keen on giving the BJP some breathing space in the Assembly after a tightly fought State election earlier this year. In Delhi, the AAP made a comeback of sorts after having lost its deposit in a by-election in April. The jump from a third-place finish to the winner’s slot must have provided some satisfaction for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is yet to reconcile himself to his party’s inability to expand beyond Delhi. Clearly, the setback in Punjab in March, where the party nursed an ambition to come to power, does not appear to have totally sapped the AAP’s enthusiasm in Delhi.

However, the most keenly fought by-election was in Nandyal, where the main Opposition party, the YSR Congress Party, raised the stakes considerably by calling it a referendum on the policies of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Indeed, the election was seen as a contest by proxy between Mr. Naidu and YSRCP leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. A loss thus would have considerably eroded the moral authority of Mr. Naidu, who still has close to two years before he faces the Assembly election. Nandyal, in the Rayalaseema region, was considered a stronghold of the YSRCP. To add to the importance of the seat, there is a bitter history of defection and betrayal. Nandyal was won by Bhuma Nagi Reddy on the YSRCP ticket in 2014, but he crossed over to the TDP shortly before his death. Shilpa Mohan Reddy, the YSRCP candidate in the by-election, had switched loyalties from the TDP. Quite expectedly, the constituency saw a high-voltage campaign with Mr. Reddy going to the extent of saying there was nothing wrong in shooting or hanging Mr. Naidu for his failure to keep his election promises. The personal attacks, coming close to incitement of violence, forced the Election Commission to intervene and rap Mr. Reddy for violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The TDP thereafter made it a must-win fight, deploying a whole team of ministers to camp in the constituency, as a loss would have been interpreted as a slide in its popular appeal. With the by-election out of the way, Mr. Naidu should be able to look ahead and focus on his development agenda without being distracted by the vitriol of his younger, relatively inexperienced political rival.

Vocabulary

Contestant: a person who takes part in a contest or competition.

Example: The applicants were then interviewed and tested for suitability and contestants selected.

Synonyms: competitor, participant, player, contender, candidate, aspirant

Stake: mark an area with stakes so as to claim ownership of it.

Example: The boundary between the two manors was properly staked out

Absence: the state of being away from a place or person.

Example: The letter had arrived during his absence

Synonyms: nonattendance, nonappearance, absenteeism, truancy, playing

Predictable: able to be predicted.

Example: The market is volatile and never predictable

Synonyms: foreseeable, (only) to be expected, anticipated, foreseen

Reconcile: restore friendly relations between.

Example: She wanted to be reconciled with her father

Synonyms: settle one's differences, make (one's) peace, make up, kiss and make up

Ambition: a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.

Example: Her ambition was to become a model

Synonyms: aspiration, intention, goal, aim, objective, object, purpose

Sapp: gradually weaken or destroy (a person's strength or power).

Example: Our energy is being sapped by bureaucrats and politicians

Synonyms: erode, wear away/down, deplete, reduce, lessen, attenuate

Enthusiasm: intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval.

Example: Her energy and enthusiasm for life

Synonyms: eagerness, keenness, ardor, fervor, passion, zeal, zest

Erode: gradually wear away soil, rock, or land.

Example: The cliffs have been eroded by the sea

Bitter: having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet.

Example: The raw berries have an intensely bitter flavor

Synonyms: sharp, acid, acidic, acrid, tart, sour, biting, unsweetened

Betrayal: the action of betraying one's country, a group, or a person; treachery.

Example: The betrayal by the French of their own refugees

Synonyms: disloyality, treachery, perfidy, perfidiousness

Incitement: the action of provoking unlawful behavior or urging someone to behave unlawfully.

Example: This amounted to an incitement to commit murder

Interpreted: explain the meaning of information, words, or actions.

Example: The evidence is difficult to interpret

Synonyms: explain, elucidate, expound, explicate, clarify, illuminate

Distract: unable to concentrate because one's mind is preoccupied.

Example: Charlotte seemed too distracted to give him much attention

Synonyms: preoccupied, inattentive, vague, abstracted, distrait, absentminded