Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Uncle Volte-face: On Nitish Kumar

Uncle Volte-face: On Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar will find convincing (विश्वास दिलाना) voters more difficult than finding allies

Nitish Kumar has done it again — a volte-face (पक्ष परिवर्तन). Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and now the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, used to call the Janata Dal (U) chief, paltu chacha — ‘uncle turnaround’. In his latest U-turn, Mr. Kumar has joined hands with Mr. Yadav, five years after they parted ways, and turned the tables on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the process. According to the JD(U), the BJP was scheming to split it and sabotage (तोड़-फोड़, कमजोर) Mr. Kumar’s government from the inside. The BJP has dismissed this allegation (आरोप), pointing out that it could not have formed a government even if the JD(U) were to split. Mr. Kumar has won this round in the game of smoke and mirrors that he has had with the BJP, and earned himself a pat on the back from the anti-BJP camp. But his cleverness (चतुराई) and manoeuvring (पैंतरेबाज़ी) skills may not be lauded by the people of Bihar whose sights might be more fixated on his political trapeze (a gymnastics or acrobatics apparatus consisting of a short horizontal bar suspended by two parallel ropes) act — after being with the BJP for long, he fought the 2015 Assembly elections with the RJD, and split with it in 2017 to return to the BJP’s embrace (आलिंगन करना, गले से लगाना). Politics makes for strange bedfellows (मित्र), but Mr. Kumar has stretched the limits of ideological infidelity. He had accused the RJD of corruption in defence of his split with it in 2017. His explanation for walking out of the alliance with the BJP that won the election in 2020 is unlikely to convince people.

Twice in five years, Mr. Kumar changed partners, both the times trampling (उत्कृष्ट) over the mandate (जनादेश, अनिवार्य) entrusted to him by the people of Bihar. Those in the Opposition camp who see this blatant (ज़बरदस्त) opportunism (अवसरवाद) as hope of an anti-BJP politics ahead of 2024 are clutching (चंगुल) at straws. At the moment, all that the new alliance of JD(U) and RJD along with the Congress and the Left parties achieves is their survival in the immediate term. The road to 2024 and beyond is a long one from here, and there is little that is predictable about Mr. Kumar en route. A lot will depend on how supporters of the individual partners of the alliance respond to this abrupt realignment, and how the JD(U) and the RJD respond to the signals from below. Though the BJP has suffered a setback, a new window has opened for it in Bihar, as the sole (एकमात्र, अकेला, व्यक्तिगत) claimant of all anti-incumbency (विरोधी लहर) votes. Central investigative agencies could get active against key figures in the new ruling coalition (An alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states), but a more reasonable thing for the BJP to do is to be more respectful of its partners and opponents. As the Shiv Sena and the JD(U) will affirm, the BJP as a friend is more dangerous than the BJP as an enemy. The BJP seems intent on expanding its base at the expense of friends and foes (A person or force that opposes or attacks) alike. While this is good as a long-term strategy, it runs the risk of undermining established power equations and coalition governments in the near term. And in politics, as in other aspects of life, there is no long-term future if one is unable to survive in the short term.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Convince (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - विश्वास दिलाना
English Meaning - Gain the confidence of

2.Volte-face (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पक्ष परिवर्तन
English Meaning - a complete change in a plan of action, opinion or policy

3.Sabotage (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - तोड़-फोड़, कमजोर
English Meaning - destructive or obstructive action carried on by a civilian or enemy agent to hinder a nation's war effort.

4.Allegation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आरोप
English Meaning - An assertion made with little or no proof.

5.Cleverness (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - चतुराई
English Meaning - The quality of being clever; ingenuity or shrewdness.

6.Manoeuvering (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - पैंतरेबाज़ी
English Meaning - Move skillfully or carefully.

7.Embrace (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - आलिंगन करना, गले से लगाना
English Meaning - An act of holding someone closely in one's arms.

8.Bedfellows (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मित्र
English Meaning - a person or thing closely associated with another

9.Trample (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - उत्कृष्ट
English Meaning - Tread on and crush

10.Mandate (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - जनादेश, अनिवार्य
English Meaning - A command from a higher authority to a lower one.

11.Opportunism (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अवसरवाद
English Meaning - The taking of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or principle.

12.Clutch (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - चंगुल
English Meaning - a person's power or control, especially when regarded as inescapable.

13.Blatant (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - ज़बरदस्त
English Meaning - (of bad behavior) done openly and unashamedly.

14.Sole (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - एकमात्र, अकेला, व्यक्तिगत
English Meaning - Being the only one.

15.Anti-Incumbency (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - विरोधी लहर
English Meaning - Sentiment in favor of voting out incumbent politicians

16.Trapeze (Noun)

English Meaning - a gymnastics or acrobatics apparatus consisting of a short horizontal bar suspended by two parallel ropes

17.Coalition (Noun)

English Meaning - An alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states.

18.Foes (Noun)

English Meaning - A person or force that opposes or attacks.