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Daily Vocab Capsule 22nd October 2019
More Firmly in The Saddle
With little sign of Opposition power, BJP is set to consolidate its position in Maharashtra and Haryana.
With assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana today, October 2019 is different from May 2019 in one big
way. Compared to the Lok Sabha elections, the poll campaign in these state elections has seen many more people
openly expressing their sense of grievances against the ruling party in both states. And, yet, most voters are
probably going to vote BJP anyway. Or not vote at all.
This is because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not lost his charm. He remains the magnet that draws most
people. But for Modi, many voters may not have been voting BJP this time. The suspension of Article 370 in
Jammu and Kashmir and the criminalisation of the instantaneous triple talaq is seen as Modi’s ability to take
risks and take tough decisions.
The Mood of Maha-Rashtra
It’s not as if local issues didn’t dominate the poll discourse. In Maharashtra, the floods, potholes on roads that
have led to accidents and deaths, long spells of drought, rising prices of food items, joblessness and the crisis in
cooperative banks have impinged on voter consciousness. The scenes of wailing depositors outside Punjab &
Maharashtra Cooperative (PMB) Bank branches have sent shivers down many spines.
The Opposition was expected to put up a fight in the Jatland areas of Haryana and parts of Marathaland in western
Maharashtra, and Nanded and Latur where I visited. These are the very areas where BJP concentrated its
firepower.
The headless state of Congress, and the hopelessness palpable in the party, has sent its own message. Congress
took its own sweet time deciding on what role Bhupinder Singh Hooda, its best card, should play in Haryana,
given the non-Jat consolidation BJP has managed, while pushing for a division in the Jat vote, which is decisive
in 23 out of 90 seats.
In Maharashtra, Congress looked like a conglomerate of individual leaders left to fend for themselves, fighting
their own battles in their constituencies with hardly any supportive blitz by senior leaders. (Many candidates had
asked for Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia to come and campaign for them.) The Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) has been under attack with cases against Praful Patel and Sharad Pawar. Had Pawar walked into the
Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) office, offering himself for interrogation as an accused in the Maharashtra State
Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam — as he had threatened to do — it might have evoked a strong reaction from
the Maratha community (comprising 35% in the state), and carried the ‘risk’ of this bloc consolidating around
Pawar again.
For some time now, BJP has been trying to divide the ranks of Marathas who had traditionally voted for Congress
and NCP (as was the case with Jats in Haryana). It has succeeded in drawing to its side members of prominent
Maratha families like the Vikhe Patils and Mohite-Patils. These comprise a network of influential families, with
sugar factories, cooperatives and educational institutions that had underpinned Pawar’s politics over the decades.
The second and third generation in these families now want to stay on the right side of power (and the law) to
safeguard their economic and political interests.
A Case of Pawar Corrupts?
Realising the implications of Pawar’s ‘interrogate me’ move, the government backed off. It was left to Pawar’s
nephew, Ajit, to take the shine off his uncle’s move by ‘going underground’ for a day, and declaring that he was
going to quit politics — which many believe could have led to a split in the party. Pawar traced him and
differences were papered over.
Clearly, Pawar has to contend with deep dissensions within the Pawar clan. The last word on that story has not
been said. And, yet, Pawar, an 80-year-old cancer survivor, had been fighting back, addressing 6-7 rallies a day,
climbing daises with difficulty, mounting attacks against the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo, sharper than ever
before. This was as much to retain NCP’s relevance and Pawar’s primary position in the party, as to win seats.
As for BJP, it managed to bring the unpredictable Shiv Sena around as the junior partner in an alliance. The Sena
had accepted a fewer number of seats to contest, and, for all practical purposes, a BJP chief minister, if the alliance
goes on to win on October 24. In all probability, Aditya Thackeray may then be the deputy chief minister,
something that incumbent chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has hinted at.
In a multilayered strategy of consolidating its own base — promising to confer Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar
was one more move to reach out to the Marathi middle classes — while dividing the Opposition’s ranks, inducting
Congress and NCP leaders into its fold in areas where BJP was weak, the party left nothing to chance. It also had
the advantage of huge resources at its command.
As a result, Fadnavis in Maharashtra and Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana seem to be more firmly in the saddle
than they were five years ago.
Courtesy: The Economic Times (National)
1. Consolidate (verb): Meaning: To become, or cause something to become, stronger, and more certain. (मजबूत
करना)
Synonyms: Strengthen, Fortify, Cement, Reinforce
Antonyms: Undermine, Debilitate, Enfeeble, Sap
Example: The success of their major product consolidated the firm's position in the market.
2. Impinge (verb): Meaning: have an effect, especially a negative one. (प्रभावित करना)
Synonyms: Affect, Impact, Touch, Influence, Leave A Mark On
Example: Several factors impinge on market efficiency.
3. Wailing (adjective): Meaning: Crying with pain, grief, or anger. (शोकाकुल, रोता हुआ)
Synonyms: Weepy, Sobbing, Howling, Bawling, In Tears
Antonyms: Blithe, Cheerful, Buoyant, Jaunty
Example: She tried to assuage the wailing toddlers.
4. Conglomerate (noun): Meaning: A thing consisting of a number of different and distinct parts or items that
are grouped together. (समूह, वमश्रण)
Synonyms: Mixture, Amalgam, Commingling, Compound, Union
Antonyms: Division, Constituent, Component, Element
Example: The Earth is a specialized conglomerate of organisms.
5. Underpin (verb): Meaning: Support, justify, or form the basis for. (सहारा देना; प्रोत्साहन देना)
Synonyms: Support, Promote, Foster, Cultivate, Aid
Antonyms: Hinder, Hamper, Impede, Inhibit
Example: He presented data to underpin his argument.
6. Charm (Noun): Meaning: The power or quality of delighting, attracting, or fascinating others. (आकर्षण,
मोहकता)
Synonyms: Attraction, Charisma, Allure, Magnetism
Antonyms: Repulsion, Disgust, Nausea, Abhorrence
Example: It's a town with a lot of old-world charm.
7. Incumbent (adjective): Meaning: (of an official or regime) currently holding office. (पदधारी, सत्ताधारी)
Synonyms: Ruling, Current, Reigning, Regnant, Commanding
Antonyms: Past, Former, Bygone, Earlier
Example: He defeated the incumbent government by a large plurality.
8. Multi-layered (adjective): Meaning: Having or involving several distinct layers, strata, or levels. (जविल, कई
पक्षीय)
Synonyms: Complex, Many-Sided, Multifaceted, Intricate
Antonyms: Simple, Plain, Facile, Straightforward
Example: However, mental representations of designs in progress are multilayered.
9. Confer (verb): Meaning: Grant (a title, degree, benefit, or right). (प्रदान करना)
Synonyms: Award, Bestow, Grant, Bequeath, Impart
Antonyms: Withhold, Keep, Hold Back, Retain
Example: The university conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
10. Palpable (adjective): Meaning: So obvious that it can easily be seen or known, or (of a feeling) so strong
that it seems as if it can be touched or physically felt. (स्पष्टगोचर; स्पशषनीय)
Synonyms: Perceptible, Tangible, Manifest, Detectable
Antonyms: Impalpable, Ambiguous, Inconspicuous, Mysterious
Example: There was a palpable sense of relief among the crowd.