Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Lessons in a loss: On the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election result

Lessons in a loss: On the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election result

The Congress can learn more from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s loss than from its win

The mandate (जनादेश, आदेश) for the Congress in Karnataka is as definitive (decisive, absolute, categorical, definite) as it could have been: an absolute majority (पूर्ण बहुमत) with 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly garnering (प्राप्त करना, संचित करना) support from across regions and demographic (जनसांख्यिकीय) groups. No doubt, some of the vote share accrued ((of a benefit) to receive/increase gradually over a period of time; accumulate, collect, gather, amass, build up, augment) to it negatively as the principal party that was in opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This also became clear in the erosion (decline, decrease, deterioration, disintegration, weakening) of support for the Janata Dal (Secular); the space for a third player shrank considerably (काफी हद तक). The BJP won less than half the number of seats the Congress did, but the party that might have suffered (be damaged, be impaired, fall off, get worse) an irreversible (irreparable, unrectifiable, unchangeable, irrecoverable, irretrievable) slide (गिराव, फिसलन) is the JD(S), which was seen as a family syndicate devoid of (से रहित, कमी) any moral compass. Voters could be forgiven (क्षमा करना) for not having known which way the JD(S) would lean (incline, bend, tilt, bias) after the election. Surely, the opportunism (अवसरवाद) of individual MLAs and the JD(S) following a hung Assembly (त्रिशंकु विधानसभा) in 2018 weighed heavily on their minds. Another indecisive (undecided, unclear, indefinite, inconclusive) verdict would have been as good as defeat for the Congress. Throughout the campaign (अभियान), the Congress stayed united, focused and dynamic (गतिशील), while BJP leaders sought to settle scores (take revenge, hit back at someone, retaliate, get even, pay someone back) with one another and worked at cross purposes (in a method that leads to confusion or failure as people are doing things or talking with different aims or purposes). The Congress showed maturity and composure (equanimity, equilibrium, coolness, presence of mind, self-control, self-command) as the BJP tried to make up for (compensate, make amends for, make reparation for, counterweigh, counterbalance, counteract, offset) its unpopularity by raking up divisive (विभाजनात्मक) and extraneous (external, outside, pointless, irrelevant, immaterial, inappropriate) issues. As the ruling party, it refused to be accountable (जवाबदेह, जिम्मेदार) for its track record ((previous) performance, accomplishments, achievements) in government and underestimated the intelligence (बुद्धिमत्ता, मानसिक क्षमता) of the voters by offering them communal opiates (drug, mind-altering drug, sleeping pill, sedative, narcotic). The Congress largely stuck to issues that could have an impact on lives and livelihoods (means of making a living with the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing); means of support, subsistence, source of income) . For very good reasons, the BJP deserved (justify, be worth, be qualified for) its defeat as much as the Congress deserved its victory.

The Congress and the BJP have lessons to be drawn from the Karnataka verdict. If the BJP truly wants to be a party trusted by all religious and linguistic (relating to language; lingual) communities, it must learn to respect them. After its failed strategy (plan of action (in order to achieve a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests)) in West Bengal in 2021, and now in Karnataka, the party must see the writing on the wall. Its totalising (treating something as having one character/principle) project is harmful not only for itself but also for the nation. A violation (breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance) of long-cherished (long-adored, long-esteemed, long-revered, long-admired, long-appreciated) and productive (rich, fruitful, high-yielding) regional aspirations (aim, ambition, objective, goal, target) is unsettling (upsetting, discomfiting, disconcerting, disturbing, disquieting, troubling) for national integrity (unity, unification, wholeness, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity; character, reputation, reliability, credibility) and progress. The attempt to undermine (weaken, subvert, sabotage, damage) native dairy brand Nandini is a case in point (example, sample, case). In a remarkable shift from the past, the Congress acknowledged (accept, recognize, realize) that it must address (tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out) questions of caste justice too, while holding on to its opposition to religious sectarianism (prejudice, bias, one-sidedness, partiality, partisanship, discrimination, unfairness, injustice), and expanding welfarism (the principles/policies of a welfare state). The Congress needs to move beyond the tired (hackneyed, overworked, banal, stereotyped, clichéd, run-of-the-mill) rhetoric (bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language) of the old order and frame a new paradigm (a model or pattern of something; example, prototype, standard, criterion) that is inclusive towards the regional, religious, class and caste diversities (existence/presence of different people (from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives ranging from race to age to gender to hometown to educational experience) within group; variety, variance, difference) of the country. It has made an experimental (empirical, observational, preliminary) beginning in Karnataka. Between the failed experiment of the BJP and the successful one of the Congress, Karnataka voters have imparted (communicate, pass on, convey, transmit (information/knowledge to someone)) important lessons to India’s political class.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.mandate (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जनादेश, आदेश
English Meaning - approval, acceptance, endorsement, authority (given by a constituency to someone acting as its representative).

2.absolute majority (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पूर्ण बहुमत
English Meaning - a condition in which a party is winning more than half of the seats/members in an election.

3.garner (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्राप्त करना, संचित करना
English Meaning - receive, get, gain, obtain, acquire.

4.demographic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जनसांख्यिकीय
English Meaning - relating to the statistical study/structure of populations, especially human beings.

5.considerably (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - काफी हद तक
English Meaning - substantially, largely, significantly.

6.slide (noun)

Hindi Meaning - गिराव, फिसलन
English Meaning - fall, decline, slump, tumble, downturn, nosedive, deterioration.

7.devoid of (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - से रहित, कमी
English Meaning - lacking, without, free of/free from, bereft of, in need of, sans.

8.forgive (verb)

Hindi Meaning - क्षमा करना
English Meaning - pardon, excuse, let off; let go, overlook, disregard, ignore.

9.opportunism (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अवसरवाद
English Meaning - expediency, exploitation, taking advantage, pragmatism, realism.

10.hung Assembly (noun)

Hindi Meaning - त्रिशंकु विधानसभा
English Meaning - When no party or pre-poll alliance is able to secure a majority in the election, this leads to a hung Assembly.

11.campaign (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभियान
English Meaning - canvassing, electioneering, an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) votes; an organized effort that seeks to influence the decision-making progress within a specific group.

12.dynamic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - गतिशील
English Meaning - energetic, powerful, strong, spirited, active, effective.

13.divisive (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विभाजनात्मक
English Meaning - disruptive, troublesome, controversial, controversial; alienating, isolating, disharmonious, discordant.

14.accountable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जवाबदेह, जिम्मेदार
English Meaning - responsible, liable, answerable.

15.intelligence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बुद्धिमत्ता, मानसिक क्षमता
English Meaning - mental capacity, reasoning, understanding, judgement, sharpness.
 

16.definitive (adjective)

English Meaning - decisive, absolute, categorical, definite.

17.accrue (verb)

English Meaning - (of a benefit) to receive/increase gradually over a period of time; accumulate, collect, gather, amass, build up, augment.

18.erosion (noun)

English Meaning - decline, decrease, deterioration, disintegration, weakening.

19.shrank past of shrink (verb)

English Meaning - lessen, reduce, decrease.

20.suffer (verb)

English Meaning - be damaged, be impaired, fall off, get worse.

21.irreversible (adjective)

English Meaning - irreparable, unrectifiable, unchangeable, irrecoverable, irretrievable.

22.syndicate (noun)

English Meaning - group, circle, league, union, association, organization.

23.compass (noun)

English Meaning - scope

24.moral compass (noun)

English Meaning - an inner sense which distinguishes what is right from what is wrong, functioning as a guide (like the needle of a compass) for morally appropriate behavior; conscience, moral sense, sense of right and wrong.

25.lean (verb)

English Meaning - incline, bend, tilt, bias.

26.weigh on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - burden, trouble, bother, worry, trouble, afflict, beset; be burdensome to.

27.indecisive (adjective)

English Meaning - undecided, unclear, indefinite, inconclusive.

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

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

29.settle a score (phrase)

English Meaning - take revenge, hit back at someone, retaliate, get even, pay someone back.

30.at cross purposes (phrase)

English Meaning - in a method that leads to confusion or failure as people are doing things or talking with different aims or purposes.

31.composure (noun)

English Meaning - equanimity, equilibrium, coolness, presence of mind, self-control, self-command.

32.make up for (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - compensate, make amends for, make reparation for, counterweigh, counterbalance, counteract, offset.

33.rake up (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - recollect, remember, revive/remind the memory of.

34.extraneous (adjective)

English Meaning - external, outside, pointless, irrelevant, immaterial, inappropriate.

35.track record (noun)

English Meaning - (previous) performance, accomplishments, achievements.

36.opiate (noun)

English Meaning - drug, mind-altering drug, sleeping pill, sedative, narcotic.

37.stick to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - follow, adhere to, conform to, abide by.

38.livelihood (noun)

English Meaning - means of making a living with the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing); means of support, subsistence, source of income.

39.deserve (verb)

English Meaning - justify, be worth, be qualified for.

40.linguistic (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to language; lingual.

41.strategy (noun)

English Meaning - plan of action (in order to achieve a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests).

42.the writing is on the wall (phrase)

English Meaning - sign, signal, indication, warning, presage, portent, omen, augury, harbinger (that some catastrophe/disaster is going to happen).

43.totalising (adjective)

English Meaning - treating something as having one character/principle.

44.violation (noun)

English Meaning - breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance.

45.long-cherished (adjective)

English Meaning - long-adored, long-esteemed, long-revered, long-admired, long-appreciated.

46.productive (adjective)

English Meaning - rich, fruitful, high-yielding.

47.aspiration (noun)

English Meaning - aim, ambition, objective, goal, target.

48.unsettling (adjective)

English Meaning - upsetting, discomfiting, disconcerting, disturbing, disquieting, troubling.

49.integrity (noun)

English Meaning - unity, unification, wholeness, coherence, cohesion, togetherness, solidarity; character, reputation, reliability, credibility.

50.undermine (verb)

English Meaning - weaken, subvert, sabotage, damage.

51.case in point (phrase)

English Meaning - example, sample, case.

52.acknowledge (verb)

English Meaning - accept, recognize, realize.

53.address (verb)

English Meaning - tackle, deal with, attend to, try to sort out.

54.hold on to (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to keep something that is a benefit for you; retain, keep on, continue, carry on, persevere.

55.sectarianism (noun)

English Meaning - prejudice, bias, one-sidedness, partiality, partisanship, discrimination, unfairness, injustice.

56.welfarism (noun)

English Meaning - the principles/policies of a welfare state.

57.tired (adjective)

English Meaning - hackneyed, overworked, banal, stereotyped, clichéd, run-of-the-mill.

58.rhetoric (noun)

English Meaning - bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language.

59.paradigm (noun)

English Meaning - a model or pattern of something; example, prototype, standard, criterion.

60.paradigm shift (noun)

English Meaning - a fundamental and important change with new ideas/thinking.

61.diversity (noun)

English Meaning - existence/presence of different people (from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives ranging from race to age to gender to hometown to educational experience) within group; variety, variance, difference.

62.experimental (adjective)

English Meaning - empirical, observational, preliminary.

63.impart (verb)

English Meaning - communicate, pass on, convey, transmit (information/knowledge to someone).