Hindi English Translation || Editorial || An extra berth: On the Rajya Sabha election results

An extra berth: On the Rajya Sabha election results

The Rajya Sabha elections have allowed dissidents (असहमत, असंतुष्‍ट) to find their voice (आवाज़)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 30 of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats which are set to (arrange, prepare, schedule, announce, be found) fall vacant in April, from 15 States, with the results announced on February 27. The party won two more seats than what its numbers in the State Assemblies (राज्य सभा) would have allowed, by brazenly engineering (bring about, cause, arrange, coordinate, manipulate, orchestrate, choreograph) cross voting by legislators (विधायक) from the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Congress in Himachal Pradesh. One BJP MLA in Karnataka crossed over to the Congress side. With six MLAs lost to the BJP, who have since been disqualified by the Speaker of the Assembly, the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is tottering (लड़खड़ाना, डगमगाना) on the edge (on the brink of, on the verge of a situation; at a crucial or critical point). Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress and Harsh Mahajan of the BJP got 34 votes each and Mr. Mahajan was declared winner through lots. The Rajya Sabha polls brought the disenchantment (मोहभंग) within the Congress with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu out to the fore (in a position of importance or influence; to become important or popular). Vikramaditya Singh, a rebel (dissident, disagreeing, opposing) Minister, announced his resignation, only to retract (वापस लौटना) his statement. The Congress is making efforts to save its government, but the crisis is far from (not, not at all; nowhere near, a long way from.) over. In Uttar Pradesh, seven Samajwadi Party legislators voted for the BJP, leading to the party winning an additional seat. It is not the first time that the BJP has fished in troubled waters (a difficult situation/time) to gain an extra berth (position, place, spot (in a government/organization/team/event)) in the Rajya Sabha. In 2017, Congress strategist (रणनीतिज्ञ) Ahmed Patel managed to win by a whisker (a very small amount) in Gujarat; and in 2020, the rebellion (विद्रोह) against the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan happened on the eve of (before a time or (important) event; early) elections to the Upper House.

The BJP now has 97 members in the Upper House, and, along with (साथ में) the allies, is just four short of (less than) the majority mark of 121 in the Rajya Sabha, where the current strength is 240. While successive (consecutive, continuous, subsequent, succeeding, following) victories in the State elections have helped the BJP improve its position, growing from 78 members in 2019 to 97 at the end of the five years, the party has never shied away from pushing the boundaries of normative (मानक का) politics to increase its strength. The gap between the BJP, the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha, and the Congress, which has just 29 members, is far (very much, considerably, markedly, significantly) too wide to be bridged (make a difference smaller) any time soon (कभी भी जल्द ही). The other Opposition parties too have only a limited presence with the Trinamool Congress at 13, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Aam Aadmi Party with 10 each, the Rashtriya Janata Dal with six and the Communist Party of India (M) with five. In past parliamentary sessions, the Opposition members were frequently suspended (निलंबित) whenever they sought to question the government, making Parliament a theatre (place of action, arena) of the government’s unilateralism (एकतरफा).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.dissident (noun)

Hindi Meaning - असहमत, असंतुष्‍ट
English Meaning - dissenter, objector, protester, agitator, nonconformist.

2.voice (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आवाज़
English Meaning - opinion, view.

3.State Assembly (noun)

Hindi Meaning - राज्य सभा
English Meaning - a legislative body in the states and union territories of India.

4.legislator (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विधायक
English Meaning - a member of a legislature (parliament/legislative assembly); lawmaker, representative.

5.totter (verb)

Hindi Meaning - लड़खड़ाना, डगमगाना
English Meaning - be unstable, be unsteady, be insecure.

6.retract (verb)

Hindi Meaning - वापस लौटना
English Meaning - take back, withdraw, disavow, disclaim.

7.strategist (noun)

Hindi Meaning - रणनीतिज्ञ
English Meaning - someone skilled in planning action/policy (especially in politics/war).

8.rebellion (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विद्रोह
English Meaning - defiance, resistance, dissent, disobedience, nonconformity.

9.along with (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - साथ में
English Meaning - together with, accompanying, in company with.

10.ally (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मित्र, साथी
English Meaning - partner, supporter, backer, confidant, associate.

11.normative (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - मानक का
English Meaning - relating to a standard/norm, particularly of behaviour.

12.any time soon (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - कभी भी जल्द ही
English Meaning - in the near future.

13.suspend (verb)

Hindi Meaning - निलंबित
English Meaning - debar, remove, evict, reject.

14.unilateralism (noun)

Hindi Meaning - एकतरफा
English Meaning - a method of taking decisions individually without considering others.

15.disenchantment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मोहभंग
English Meaning - disappointment, dissatisfaction, discontent.

16.berth (noun)

English Meaning - position, place, spot (in a government/organization/team/event).

17.find one’s voice (phrase)

English Meaning - to be able to say one’s opinion/view (after being too nervous or shy to do so).

18.cross over (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - switch, change (as from one political party to another).

19.set to (verb)

English Meaning - arrange, prepare, schedule, announce, be found.

20.fall (verb)

English Meaning - become.

21.brazenly (adverb)

English Meaning - blatantly, clearly, fragrantly, unashamedly, shamelessly.

22.engineer (verb)

English Meaning - bring about, cause, arrange, coordinate, manipulate, orchestrate, choreograph.

23.cross-voting (noun)

English Meaning - voting for an opposition candidate/political party against one’s own party.

24.on the edge (of)(phrase)

English Meaning - on the brink of, on the verge of a situation; at a crucial or critical point.

25.lot (noun)

English Meaning - the making of a decision by random selection; a randomized method of choosing between 2.

26.to the fore (phrase)

English Meaning - in a position of importance or influence; to become important or popular.

27.rebel (noun as modifier)

English Meaning - dissident, disagreeing, opposing.

28.far from (phrase)

English Meaning - not, not at all; nowhere near, a long way from.

29.lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

30.troubled waters (phrase)

English Meaning - a difficult situation/time.

31.fish in troubled waters (phrase)

English Meaning - involve (oneself) in a dangerous situation in the hope of gaining some personal advantage.

32.whisker (noun)

English Meaning - a very small amount.

33.on the eve of (phrase)

English Meaning - before a time or (important) event; early.

34.The Upper House (or) Rajya Sabha (noun)

English Meaning - The Rajya Sabha or the Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India.

35.The Lower House (or) Lok Sabha (noun)

English Meaning - The Lok Sabha or the House of the People is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of India. (bicameral legislature/parliament means a legislature/parliament having two chambers/houses).

36.short of (phrase)

English Meaning - less than.

37.successive (adjective)

English Meaning - consecutive, continuous, subsequent, succeeding, following.

38.shy away from (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - avoid, recoil, withdraw nervously (due to fear/surprise/pain).

39.push the boundary (phrase)

English Meaning - stretch the limit, push the envelope; (push the envelope means extend the limits of what is possible; try new things that have not been accepted or tried before).

40.far (adverb)

English Meaning - very much, considerably, markedly, significantly.

41.bridge (verb)

English Meaning - make a difference smaller.

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

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

43.theatre (noun)

English Meaning - place of action, arena.