THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - March 5, 2018 - Topic 1
Small
arena, big win: on the BJP victory in Tripura
There is a reason that the Bharatiya Janata Party
is disproportionately pleased with its performance in Tripura, which sends only two members to the Lok Sabha. From zero
to 35 seats in the 60-member Assembly in five years is unarguably no mean
electoral accomplishment. But having done this by beating the Left Front, its
strongest ideological opponent, even if not the biggest political threat
nationally, has given Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah
a special satisfaction.
Mr. Modi wanted a victory in Tripura to be celebrated as much as the victory in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of members to the Lok Sabha. Mr. Shah saw in Tripura a reason for his party workers in West Bengal and Kerala to be extremely happy. The BJP likes to imagine that the Left has wielded a disproportionate influence on political discourse, resulting in pushing the entire Sangh Parivar into a place of political isolation and unacceptability. It is true that the BJP’s difficulties in finding allies for much of the eighties and the nineties had a lot to do with the Left, particularly the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which propped up an effective secular platform for regional parties opposed to the Congress. If the BJP kept its core Hindutva issues on the back burner during the Vajpayee years in government, then it was in no small measure due to pressure from its allies who were earlier part of a Left-backed grouping that treated the Congress as the biggest enemy and the BJP as beyond the pale. The real story in Tripura is of course the collapse of the Congress vote-bank. Clearly, the anti-Left, anti-incumbency vote, which includes the tribal vote, has moved completely to the BJP. A tie-up with the Congress, therefore, would not have been the answer to the Left’s loss in Tripura, where it ruled for 25 years. What it needs to do is win back some of the tribal votes that the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura spirited away to the BJP.
Mr. Modi wanted a victory in Tripura to be celebrated as much as the victory in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of members to the Lok Sabha. Mr. Shah saw in Tripura a reason for his party workers in West Bengal and Kerala to be extremely happy. The BJP likes to imagine that the Left has wielded a disproportionate influence on political discourse, resulting in pushing the entire Sangh Parivar into a place of political isolation and unacceptability. It is true that the BJP’s difficulties in finding allies for much of the eighties and the nineties had a lot to do with the Left, particularly the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which propped up an effective secular platform for regional parties opposed to the Congress. If the BJP kept its core Hindutva issues on the back burner during the Vajpayee years in government, then it was in no small measure due to pressure from its allies who were earlier part of a Left-backed grouping that treated the Congress as the biggest enemy and the BJP as beyond the pale. The real story in Tripura is of course the collapse of the Congress vote-bank. Clearly, the anti-Left, anti-incumbency vote, which includes the tribal vote, has moved completely to the BJP. A tie-up with the Congress, therefore, would not have been the answer to the Left’s loss in Tripura, where it ruled for 25 years. What it needs to do is win back some of the tribal votes that the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura spirited away to the BJP.
The BJP has something to
cheer about in Nagaland as well: it won 11 seats
and is in a position to form a government with the support of its ally, the
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, a breakaway group of a former ally,
the Naga Peoples Front. The smaller northeastern States, heavily dependent on
the Centre for funds, have a tendency to back the party ruling at the Centre.
Like the Congress earlier, the BJP is currently the beneficiary. In Meghalaya,
the Congress managed to emerge as the single largest party, but the BJP, with
two members, is helping the National People’s Party form the government. After
being denied in Manipur and Goa last year, when it could not form the
government despite being the single largest party, the Congress actively
pursued alliances, but with little luck. The Northeast is in no position to
help any party win the battle for the Lok Sabha, but the winner of the battle
for the Lok Sabha is in the best position to win the Northeast.
Vocabulary
Disproportionate: too large or too
small in comparison with something else.
Example: People on lower incomes spend a
disproportionate amount of their income on fuel
Synonyms: out of proportion
to, not appropriate to, inappropriate to
Antonyms: commensurate, per capita, proportionate
Unarguable: not open to disagreement;
indisputable.
Example: Unarguable proof of conspiracy
Synonyms: inarguable
Antonyms: contestable
Accomplishment: something that has been
achieved successfully.
Example: The reduction of inflation was a
remarkable accomplishment
Synonyms: achievement, act, deed, exploit, performance
Antonyms: cessation, deliberation, endurance, immobility
Satisfaction: fulfillment of one's wishes,
expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from this.
Example: He smiled with satisfaction
Synonyms: contentment, pleasure, gratification, fulfillment, enjoyment
Antonyms: dissatisfaction
Wield: hold and use a weapon or
tool.
Example: A masked raider wielding a handgun
Synonyms: brandish, flourish, wave, swing, use, employ, handle
Influence: the capacity to have an
effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or
the effect itself.
Example: The influence of television
violence
Synonyms: effect, impact, control, sway, hold, power, authority, mastery
Antonyms: deter, discourage, dissuade, hinder, impede
Discourse: written or spoken
communication or debate.
Example: The language of political
discourse
Synonyms: discussion, conversation, talk, dialogue, conference, debate
Collapse: an instance of a structure
falling down or in.
Example: The collapse of a railroad bridge
Synonyms: cave-in, subsidence
Tendency: an inclination toward a
particular characteristic or type of behavior.
Example: For students, there is a tendency
to socialize in the evenings
Synonyms: propensity, proclivity, proneness, aptness, likelihood
Antonyms: aimlessness, avoidance, carelessness, heedlessness
Pursue: follow someone or something
in order to catch or attack them.
Example: The officer pursued the van
Synonyms: follow, run
after, chase, hunt, stalk, track, trail, shadow
