THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- January 25, 2018 - Topic 1

Political tango — on Shiv Sena-BJP ties

The only surprise in the Shiv Sena’s decision to go it alone in future elections is the timing. With parliamentary elections more than a year away and in the absence of any political compulsion to reveal its hand now, it is not clear what led the Sena to make the announcement. It is public knowledge that the BJP and the Sena, to understate the point, are not on the best of terms — even in the Assembly election of 2014, the Sena fought without its erstwhile ally. 

The truth is that both parties are at a stage in their political life when one can grow in Maharashtra only at the expense of the other. This is no ideological rift. The Sena, even from the reign of its founder Bal Thackeray, had sought to expand beyond Marathi chauvinism by embracing hardline Hindutva. The differences between the two parties were entirely over sharing of seats for the Assembly election, a result of the BJP seeking a larger share than before on the basis of its better performance in the Lok Sabha polls, held just months earlier. If the seat negotiations sowed the seeds of the rift, the results of the elections effectively ended any chance of a revival of a pre-poll alliance. The Sena, used to being the senior partner in the alliance, finished way behind the BJP in the election, and had to join the Maharashtra government with several bruises to its political ego. As things stand, if the Sena wants an alliance with the BJP in 2019, it can only be as a junior partner. This is unthinkable for Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who is under some pressure to erase the impression that he is not politically as tough as his father, Bal.

All signals from the Sena’s national executive indicate that it sees the BJP more as a rival than as an ally. Mr. Thackeray seems unable to reconcile himself to the changed political equations in Maharashtra, as he has vowed to compete with the BJP for Hindutva votes in other States. The unstated purpose appears to be to hurt the BJP wherever he can, in retaliation for encroaching upon the Sena’s space in Maharashtra. But for all the belligerence of the Sena, the BJP is unmoved. The national party looks as if it is treating its regional ally as an errant child. The BJP does not need the Sena’s support at the Centre; in Maharashtra, where it is short of a majority, it is not asking its partner to leave the government. The BJP tries to wear the attitude of an indulgent senior partner, one that is reluctant to act in anger or haste. As for the Sena, it has chosen to refrain from attempting to pull down the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra and to stay on in the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. In short, the two parties have signalled they can still be in a relationship, if not an alliance. They may fight elections separately, but they can still rule together.

Vocabulary

Alone: having no one else present; on one's own.

Example: She was alone that evening

Synonyms: by oneself, on one's own, all alone, solitary, single, singly

Antonyms: comparable, inclusive, accompanied, social

Compulsion: the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something; constraint.

Example: The payment was made under compulsion

Synonyms: obligation, constraint, coercion, duress, pressure

Antonyms: choice, contingency, doubt, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiousness

Reveal: make previously unknown or secret information known to others.

Example: Brenda was forced to reveal Robbie's whereabouts

Synonyms: divulge, disclose, tell, let slip, let drop, give away, give out

Antonyms: bury, conceal, cover up, hide, hush

Erstwhile: former.

Example: His erstwhile rivals

Synonyms: former, old, past, one-time, sometime, ex-, late

Antonyms: present, future

Rift: a crack, split, or break in something.

Example: The wind had torn open a rift in the clouds

Synonyms: crack, fault, flaw, split, break, breach, fissure, fracture

Chauvinism: exaggerated or aggressive patriotism.

Example: Public opinion was easily moved to chauvinism and nationalism

Synonyms: jingoism, male chauvinism, antifeminism

Sow: plant seed by scattering it on or in the earth.

Example: Sow a thin layer of seeds on top

Synonyms: plant, scatter, spread, disperse, strew, disseminate, distribute

Antonyms: eradicate, extirpate, root up, uproot, weed out

Impression: an imitation of a person or thing, especially one done to entertain.

Example: He did an impression of Frank Sinatra

Synonyms: impersonation, imitation, parody, caricature, burlesque

Antonyms: actuality, fact, reality, substance

Reconcile: restore friendly relations between.

Example: She wanted to be reconciled with her father

Synonyms: settle one's differences, make one's peace

Indulgent: having or indicating a tendency to be overly generous to or lenient with someone.

Example: Indulgent parents

Synonyms: permissive, easygoing, liberal, tolerant, forgiving

Antonyms: renunciative, self-restraining, unpermissive, disciplinary

Encroach: intrude on a person's territory or a thing considered to be a right.

Example: Rather than encroach on his privacy, she might have kept to her room

Synonyms: intrude on, trespass on, impinge on, obtrude on, impose oneself on