Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Flagrant fraud: On the Chandigarh mayoral election

Flagrant fraud: On the Chandigarh mayoral election

Stratagem to defeat Opposition alliance (गठबंधन) backfired on BJP in Chandigarh

It was an indirect election in which a mere 35 councillors could vote. Yet, the election of Chandigarh’s Mayor has emerged as a microcosm (a thing (a group, a community, a place or a situation) that has all characteristics & aspects of something much larger; a little world, miniature universe) of the sort of serious electoral malpractice (misconduct, wrongdoing, unethical behaviour, unprofessionalism) that can undermine (कमज़ोर करना, नष्ट करना) democracy. The Supreme Court of India, while declaring the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the duly (properly, correctly, appropriately, fittingly, rightly) elected Mayor, has exposed (प्रदर्शित करना) a malaise (अस्वस्थता) that is not often recognised (एहसास करना, अनुभव करना) in the great Indian election scene: (incident, event, episode, happening) the role of officials (अधिकारी) in helping parties steal (loot, rob, appropriate, misappropriate) elections through fraudulent (बेईमान) means (मतलब) during counting. The act of the Returning Officer (A Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing the election in a constituency. The Returning Officer’s duties include accepting and scrutinising nomination forms, publishing the affidavits of candidates, allotting symbols to the contesting candidates, preparing the list of contesting candidates, preparing the EVMs and VVPATs, training polling personnel, designating counting centres, and counting the votes and declaring the result), Anil Masih, in marking or defacing ballot (मतदान) papers, was not only captured on camera but was also proven to be a ruse (ploy, tactic, trick, stratagem, cunning plan, manoeuvre, machination, smokescreen) to declare invalid votes that were validly (वैध रूप से, उचित रूप से) cast in Mr. Kumar’s favour. Mr. Masih, a man with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) affiliation (संबंध, संगति), appears to have committed the illegality (अवैधता) to help Manoj Sonkar, the BJP candidate, win the mayoral election, but it ultimately (finally, in the end, eventually) backfired (rebound/boomerang, come back, have an adverse effect) on him, as the apex court (सर्वोच्च न्यायालय) has initiated the process to prosecute (मुकदमा चलाना) him for giving false information to the Court. Ever since he controversially (विवादास्पद ढंग से) declared Mr. Sonkar elected after ruling eight votes invalid, Mr. Masih had sought to brazen it out by claiming that the votes were invalid as they were defaced (damage, impair, spoil, disfigure, vandalise, disfigure intentionally). His claim (statement, allegation, argument, contention) was shown to be false, as the Court found nothing on the ballots indicating defacement (damage, impairment, disfigurement, vandalism, disfiguration).

When Mr. Sonkar resigned from his post on the eve of (a day/evening/period of time just before a particular event) the hearing (inquiry, investigation, examination, legal proceedings), the Court was alive to (aware of, alert to, sensitive to, conscious of, mindful of, watchful of, cognizant of, familiar with) the possibility (chance, likelihood, option) that the BJP was looking for a reason to have a fresh election, as by that time, it had won over three AAP councillors to its side, a development (turn of events, incident, occurrence, happening) that may impede (obstruct, hinder, hamper, block, interpret) the new Mayor’s functioning (operation performance, service, work). The Court warned against the democratic process being set at naught (disregard, defy, refuse or disdain) by “subterfuge (deception, trickery, tactic, cunning/cheating (action), intrigue)”. It was, therefore, logical that it did not order a fresh election, but decided to go ahead (continue, go on, proceed, advance, move on (with a plan or activity)) with the original votes, taking into account the valid votes illegally declared invalid. There is little doubt that the development is a setback (problem, difficulty, issue) to the BJP, which seems to have resorted to the fraud with the aim of subverting (undermine, weaken, sabotage, damage, demolish, disrupt) the cooperation between the Congress and the AAP, which are part of the Opposition INDIA bloc (group) and had forged (form, create, establish, set up, put together) an alliance for the municipal election. BJP president J.P. Nadda had sought to use the election result to underscore (underline, emphasise, highlight, stress, call/draw attention to) the failure of both arithmetic (the use of numbers in counting and calculation) and chemistry (an intense feeling of connection) in the Opposition alliance, but will now have to deal with the party’s loss of face (humiliation, embarrassment, shame, disgrace, loss of pride, slap in the face). It was indeed (in fact, actually) a fit case for the Court to invoke (cite, mention, refer to, point to, adduce, turn to, resort to) its extraordinary powers to decide on fact who actually won the election. The prosecution (legal action, legal proceeding, legal case) of Mr. Masih should also establish (prove, demonstrate, indicate, determine, denote, manifest) at whose behest (instruction, command, order, demand, insistence) he had resorted to such flagrant fraud.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.alliance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गठबंधन
English Meaning - group, coalition, union, partnership.

2.undermine (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कमज़ोर करना, नष्ट करना
English Meaning - weaken, subvert, sabotage, damage.

3.expose (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रदर्शित करना
English Meaning - reveal, disclose, show, exhibit, uncover, betray.

4.malaise (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अस्वस्थता
English Meaning - trouble, disorder, disquiet, disease, infirmity, depression, unhappiness, doldrums .

5.recognise (verb)

Hindi Meaning - एहसास करना, अनुभव करना
English Meaning - realize, perceive, identify, acknowledge, discern.

6.official (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अधिकारी
English Meaning - officer, functionary, executive, bureaucrat, dignitary, mandarin.

7.fraudulent (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बेईमान
English Meaning - dishonest, unlawful, unethical, unprincipled.

8.means (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मतलब
English Meaning - way, method, manner, technique, procedure.

9.ballot (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मतदान
English Meaning - vote, poll.

10.validly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - वैध रूप से, उचित रूप से
English Meaning - justifiably, legitimately, reasonably.

11.affiliation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संबंध, संगति
English Meaning - connection, relationship, association, partnership, attachment, link.

12.illegality (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अवैधता
English Meaning - an illegal act/practice.

13.apex court (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सर्वोच्च न्यायालय
English Meaning - supreme court.

14.prosecute (verb)

Hindi Meaning - मुकदमा चलाना
English Meaning - take to court, bring an action against, take legal action against, accuse, charge.

15.controversially (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - विवादास्पद ढंग से
English Meaning - dubiously, confusedly, unsupportedly.

16.flagrant (adjective)

English Meaning - shockingly noticeable, evident, glaring, blatant, obvious, conspicuous, transparent, palpable, disgraceful.

17.stratagem (noun)

English Meaning - scheme, tactic, trick, plan, manoeuvre.

18.backfire (verb)

English Meaning - rebound/boomerang, come back, have an adverse effect.

19.microcosm (noun)

English Meaning - a thing (a group, a community, a place or a situation) that has all characteristics & aspects of something much larger; a little world, miniature universe.

20.of the sort (phrase)

English Meaning - like something mentioned.

21.malpractice (noun)

English Meaning - misconduct, wrongdoing, unethical behaviour, unprofessionalism.

22.duly (adverb)

English Meaning - properly, correctly, appropriately, fittingly, rightly.

23.scene (noun)

English Meaning - incident, event, episode, happening.

24.steal (verb)

English Meaning - loot, rob, appropriate, misappropriate.

25.Returning Officer (noun)

English Meaning - A Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing the election in a constituency. The Returning Officer’s duties include accepting and scrutinising nomination forms, publishing the affidavits of candidates, allotting symbols to the contesting candidates, preparing the list of contesting candidates, preparing the EVMs and VVPATs, training polling personnel, designating counting centres, and counting the votes and declaring the result.

26.deface (verb)

English Meaning - damage, impair, spoil, disfigure, vandalise, disfigure intentionally.

27.ballot (noun)

English Meaning - the piece of paper used to record a vote.

28.ruse (noun)

English Meaning - ploy, tactic, trick, stratagem, cunning plan, manoeuvre, machination, smokescreen.

29.cast (verb)

English Meaning - register, record, vote.

30.in one’s favour (phrase)

English Meaning - to one’s advantage.

31.ultimately (adverb)

English Meaning - finally, in the end, eventually.

32.rule (verb)

English Meaning - pronounce, determine, decide, direct.

33.sought past and past participle of seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

34.brazen (it) out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to act or behave confidently & shamelessly (even after doing something wrong & also by not admitting that); put a bold face on it, be defiant, be unashamed.

35.claim (verb)

English Meaning - state, insist, allege, argue.

36.claim (noun)

English Meaning - statement, allegation, argument, contention.

37.defacement (noun)

English Meaning - damage, impairment, disfigurement, vandalism, disfiguration.

38.on the eve of (phrase)

English Meaning - a day/evening/period of time just before a particular event.

39.hearing (noun)

English Meaning - inquiry, investigation, examination, legal proceedings.

40.alive to (adjective)

English Meaning - aware of, alert to, sensitive to, conscious of, mindful of, watchful of, cognizant of, familiar with.

41.possibility (noun)

English Meaning - chance, likelihood, option.

42.win over (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - persuade, convince, prevail (on or upon), influence, press someone into, bring someone around, inveigle.

43.development (noun)

English Meaning - turn of events, incident, occurrence, happening.

44.impede (verb)

English Meaning - obstruct, hinder, hamper, block, interpret.

45.functioning (noun)

English Meaning - operation performance, service, work.

46.set at naught (phrase)

English Meaning - disregard, defy, refuse or disdain.

47.subterfuge (noun)

English Meaning - deception, trickery, tactic, cunning/cheating (action), intrigue.

48.go ahead (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - continue, go on, proceed, advance, move on (with a plan or activity).

49.take into account (phrase)

English Meaning - consider, think about, factor in, take account of, take into consideration.

50.setback (noun)

English Meaning - problem, difficulty, issue.

51.resort to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - have recourse to, make use of, use, utilize, adopt.

52.subvert (verb)

English Meaning - undermine, weaken, sabotage, damage, demolish, disrupt.

53.bloc (noun)

English Meaning - group.

54.forge (verb)

English Meaning - form, create, establish, set up, put together.

55.underscore (verb)

English Meaning - underline, emphasise, highlight, stress, call/draw attention to.

56.arithmetic (noun)

English Meaning - the use of numbers in counting and calculation.

57.chemistry (noun)

English Meaning - an intense feeling of connection.

58.loss of face (phrase)

English Meaning - humiliation, embarrassment, shame, disgrace, loss of pride, slap in the face.

59.indeed (adverb)

English Meaning - in fact, actually.

60.fit (adjective)

English Meaning - suitable, relevant, pertinent, appropriate.

61.invoke (verb)

English Meaning - cite, mention, refer to, point to, adduce, turn to, resort to.

62.Extraordinary Power to the Supreme Court (or) Article 142 of the Constitution (noun)

English Meaning - It provides a unique power to the Supreme Court, to do “complete justice” between the parties, where, at times, the law or statute may not provide a remedy. In those situations, the court can extend itself to put an end to a dispute in a manner that would fit the facts of the case.

63.prosecution (noun)

English Meaning - legal action, legal proceeding, legal case.

64.establish (verb)

English Meaning - prove, demonstrate, indicate, determine, denote, manifest.

65.behest (noun)

English Meaning - instruction, command, order, demand, insistence.