Topic Of The Day:-“Northern comfort: on Congress’s win in Hindi heartland”
The Congress’s Performance In The Hindi Heartland Will Enthuse It In The Run-Up To 2019
For a party that had appeared to be lost in the political wilderness over the past few years, the Congress has plenty to cheer about following the results in the recent round of Assembly elections. In the three Hindi-speaking States, where it was locked in a direct contest with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress has performed more than creditably, raising hopes of a revival of fortunes as the country gears up for the general election in 2019. In Chhattisgarh, the party probably well exceeded even its own expectations by building a massive 10-percentage point lead over the BJP, setting itself up to win more than a two-thirds majority. The battle in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were on a more even keel, but at the time of writing it appears that the Congress may have done enough to form a government in both States. A measure of how much of a reversal this is for the BJP can be gauged by comparing this result with that of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, when the BJP won 62 of the 65 parliamentary seats in the three States. If the Congress struggled to breast the tape in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it was because independents and smaller parties registered a few surprise victories; in Rajasthan, for instance, more than a dozen independents were among the winners. If the results are interpreted as pointers on how the 2019 election will play out, then the Congress may be still short of where it would like to be. But the results may well infuse the party leadership with the confidence that it is on the comeback trail.
The Congress’s performance in these States will take some of the sting out of its losses in Telangana and Mizoram, where it was bested by regional players. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi won big, making light of the broad alliance put together by the Congress. Indeed, the alliance between the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party may well have polarised the contest in favour of the TRS. The TDP, which rules neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, is not exactly a popular party in much of Telangana because of its vacillations on the question of the creation of the new State. It is possible that the Congress was looking at the larger picture while deciding to ally with the TDP, seeing the regional party’s leader N. Chandrababu Naidu as a rallying point for Opposition unity. United Andhra Pradesh was one State that contributed significantly to the Congress tally in both 2004 and 2009, and to be reduced to such pitiful numbers in Telangana, with little room for improvement in Andhra Pradesh, should certainly be a cause for concern for the national leadership of the party. Winning an ally in the TDP is small recompense for the massive erosion in the Congress’s support base in the region. In Mizoram, where people vote against the Congress whenever the party is out of power at the Centre, the Mizo National Front was, unsurprisingly, the winner this time. But this defeat held another pain point: it saw the Congress losing its last citadel in the Northeast.
The best news for the Congress was of course Chhattisgarh. The presence of a third front in the form of the Janta Congress Chhattisgarh, led by former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which took away a chunk of the anti-incumbency votes, did nothing to deny the Congress a big win. Chhattisgarh had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP in 2014, giving it 10 of the 11 seats, and the dramatic reversal in fortunes must have shocked the BJP. But the Congress can also take heart from the performance in Madhya Pradesh, a much larger State that sends 29 members to the Lok Sabha. Although there was not much that separated the two parties in terms of vote share, the Congress can reasonably believe that the momentum is with it. In Rajasthan, where it performed stunningly in by-elections, and where anti-incumbency sentiment was believed to be riding high, the Congress, despite its victory, may regard its own performance as sub-par. For the BJP, the setback in Rajasthan, which has not been kind to the incumbent from 1998 onward, was no surprise. Despite conceding a substantial number of Assembly seats, the party can take solace from the fact that the difference in vote share between it and the Congress was minuscule. However, looking forward, the BJP will be worried that the results will encourage the Congress and the BSP to come together in an electoral embrace. In Madhya Pradesh, the BSP has demonstrated its strength, or at the very least its capacity to be a spoiler. An alliance of the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress that extends beyond Uttar Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh can seriously alter the political landscape of the region.
As for the BJP, the results are an opportunity to introspect. Not just on the performance of its governments in the State, but also the performance of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. To reduce the results of the Hindi-speaking States to the intangible anti-incumbency sentiment would be a mistake. After all, both Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan survived two elections as incumbents. A potent mix of rural distress and urban angst seem to have contributed to the erosion in the BJP’s support base. Farmers suffered disproportionately and for longer following demonetisation, and small traders in urban areas have felt handicapped by the straitjacket of the Goods and Services Tax. It may be tempting to think that aggressive cow vigilantism and the Ram temple will influence voter behaviour, but these elections underline it is livelihood concerns that really influence voter behaviour. The BJP will need to tackle issues of employment and development with better intent if it is to arrest the slide. The first term of a Prime Minister is won on promise, but the second term will have to be won on performance. Not even Narendra Modi is an exception to this.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) cited
Meaning : refer to (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work.
Tamil Meaning : மேற்கோள்
Synonyms : allege
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “authors who are highly regarded by their peers tend to be cited”
2) tussle
Meaning : a vigorous struggle or scuffle, typically in order to obtain or achieve something.(n)
Tamil Meaning : மோதல்
Synonyms :struggle
Antonyms : consensus
Example : “there was a tussle for the ball”
3) clutch
Meaning : a tight grasp.(n)
Synonyms : grasp
Antonyms : abandon
Example : “she made a clutch at his body”
4) bearing
Meaning : a person’s way of standing or moving(n).
Tamil Meaning : தாங்கி
Synonyms : carriage
Antonyms : irrelevance
Example : “a man of precise military bearing”
5) perceptions
Meaning : the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
Tamil Meaning : கருத்து
Synonyms : notions
Antonyms : ignorances
Example : “the normal limits to human perception”
6) thaw
Meaning : become liquid or soft as a result of warming up.
Synonyms : melt
Antonyms : freeze
Example : “the river thawed and barges of food began to reach the capital”
7) hammered
Meaning : hit or beat (something) repeatedly with a hammer or similar object.(v)
Tamil Meaning : பலத்த
Synonyms : forged
Antonyms : sober
Example : “he hammered the tack in”
8) contentious
Meaning : causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial(adj).
Tamil Meaning : சர்ச்சைக்குரிய
Synonyms : combative
Antonyms : pacifist
Example : “a contentious issue”
9) controversial
Meaning : giving rise or likely to give rise to controversy or public disagreement.
Synonyms : disputable
Antonyms : agreeable
Example : “years of wrangling over a controversial bypass”
10) resolved
Meaning : firmly determined to do something.
Tamil Meaning : தீர்க்கப்பட
Synonyms : determined
Antonyms : undecided
Example : “Constance was resolved not to cry”
11) scrambled
Meaning : make one’s way quickly or awkwardly up a steep gradient or over rough ground by using one’s hands as well as one’s feet.”we scrambled over the damp boulders”(v)
Tamil Meaning : துருவல்
Synonyms : jumbled
Antonyms : goodish
Example : “we scrambled over the damp boulders”
12) reinforce
Meaning : strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material.(v)
Tamil Meaning : வலுப்படுத்தும்
Synonyms : strengthen
Antonyms : weaken
Example : “the helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork”
13) indeed
Meaning : used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested.
Synonyms : truly
Antonyms : conversely
Example : “it was not expected to last long, and indeed it took less than three weeks”
14) reclusive
Meaning : avoiding the company of other people; solitary.
Tamil Meaning : தனிமையை
Synonyms : secluded
Antonyms : outgoing
Example : “he led a reclusive life”
15) endeared
Meaning : cause to be loved or liked.
Tamil Meaning : பெரிதும் நேசித்தனர்
Synonyms : dear
Antonyms : outcast
Example : “Flora’s spirit and character endeared her to everyone who met her”
16) eminence
Meaning : fame or acknowledged superiority within a particular sphere.
Tamil Meaning : மாண்புமிக்க
Synonyms : prominence
Antonyms : inferiority
Example : “her eminence in cinematography”
17) disputed
Meaning : argue about (something).
Tamil Meaning : பிரச்சினைக்குரிய
Synonyms : argued
Antonyms : accepted
Example : “the point has been much disputed”
18) breach
Meaning : an act of breaking or failing to observe a law, agreement, or code of conduct.(n)
Tamil Meaning : மீறினால்
Synonyms : break
Antonyms : bridge
Example : “a breach of confidence”
19) wilderness
Meaning : a neglected or abandoned area.(n)
Synonyms : desert
Antonyms : region
Example : “the garden had become a wilderness of weeds and bushes”
20) contest
Meaning : engage in competition to attain (a position of power).
Tamil Meaning : போட்டி
Synonyms : struggle
Antonyms : collaborate
Example : “she declared her intention to contest the presidency”
21) creditable
Meaning : (of a performance, effort, or action) deserving public acknowledgement and praise but not necessarily outstanding or successful.
Synonyms : estimable
Antonyms : outrageous
Example : “a very creditable 2–4 defeat”
22) revival
Meaning : an improvement in the condition, strength, or fortunes of someone or something(n).
Tamil Meaning : மறுமலர்ச்சி
Synonyms : renewal
Antonyms : suppression
Example : “a revival in the fortunes of the party”
23) gauged
Meaning : estimate or determine the amount, level, or volume of.
Tamil Meaning : அளக்கப்படும்
Synonyms : assessed
Antonyms : estimated
Example : “astronomers can gauge the star’s intrinsic brightness”
24) interpreted
Meaning : explain the meaning of (information or actions).
Tamil Meaning : விளக்கம்
Synonyms : rendered
Antonyms : distorted
Example : “the evidence is difficult to interpret”
25) infuse
Meaning : fill; pervade.
Tamil Meaning : உட்செலுத்த
Synonyms : permeate
Antonyms : boldness
Example : “her work is infused with an anger born of pain and oppression”
