DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE (23rd-JUNE-2021) DMK RETURNS: ON TAMIL NADU ASSEMBLY POLL RESULTS Tamil Nadu stays a two-front arena; attempts to form a third force fail to impress voters Some elections are decided on key issues, some on the incumbent’s performance, and others on alliance arithmetic and local factors. The outcome of the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, in which the DMK emerged triumphant and its leader, M.K. Stalin, is set to be sworn in as Chief Minister, seems to be an unequal mix of all these. The DMK’s comeback was a foregone conclusion after the alliance led by it scored a landslide victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, and a third successive term for the AIADMK was unlikely. Mr. Stalin has been rewarded for his patience. He has led the party successfully for the second time after the demise of M. Karunanidhi, his father and the party’s towering figure for over four decades. The DMK rode mainly on a popular desire for change, to win 133 seats on its own, including some secured by allies who contested on the DMK symbol. The front ended up with 159 seats. The Congress’s performance is more impressive, as it won 18 of the 25 seats allotted to it. The two Left parties won two seats each, and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) won four seats, of which two were in the general category, showing that it draws its appeal from a base wider than the Dalits it represents. Amid expectations that the Tamil Nadu voter would reject the idea of an alliance with the BJP, the AIADMK managed to win 66 seats, while five seats went to its ally, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK); the BJP re- enters the Assembly after 20 years with a tally of four. The results may be difficult to interpret in terms of whether the voters accepted the DMK’s campaign point that the AIADMK, led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami, surrendered the State’s rights to the Centre, but it may indicate that Mr. Palaniswami managed to mitigate the adverse impact of having a tie- up with the BJP. In the ultimate analysis, the DMK cadre’s fieldwork prevailed over the AIADMK’s mass appeal. The AIADMK has retained much of its vote base, and its bastion in the western region is intact. The outgoing regime’s handling of the COVID-19 situation, farmers’ loan waiver and the 7.5% quota for government school students in medical admissions seem to have stood Mr. Palaniswami in good stead. However, the sub-quota for the Vanniyar community seems to have had only limited impact, as the AIADMK-PMK alliance performed below par in the northern districts, where most of the seats went to the DMK. The entry of the Left parties, the VCK and the MDMK — which were part of an unsuccessful third front in 2016 — to the DMK front has added to the DMK front’s tally. The DMK front’s vote percentage went up from about 39% in the last poll to 45% now. Tamil Nadu remains a two-front arena, with aspirants such as the Naam Tamilar Katchi, whose share has jumped to 6.58%, the Makkal Needhi Maiam and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam consigned to the fringe. front (noun) – political group, party, faction, triumphant (adjective) – victorious, successful, grouping. winning, conquering. arena (noun) – field of conflict, sphere of set to (adjective) – ready, prepared, likely to do action, sphere of activity, battleground, something. battlefield. swear in (phrasal verb) – admit into office, force (noun) – a group (of people). inaugurate, introduce (into office). incumbent (noun) – the present holder or comeback (noun) – resurgence, recovery, occupant of an office. return, revival, rebound. alliance (noun) – association, union, a foregone conclusion (phrase) – predictable partnership. result, predictable outcome, inevitability. arithmetic (noun) – calculation, reckoning, score (verb) – win, achieve, get, gain. tally; the use of numbers in counting and landslide (noun) – decisive (victory), runaway calculation. (victory), overwhelming majority. 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-750015 1 Ph. : 8093556677, 9040456677, Web :www.vanik.org, E-mail : [email protected] DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE (23rd-JUNE-2021) successive (adjective) – consecutive, surrender (verb) – capitulate, give in, yield, continuous. concede, succumb, back down; give up, unlikely (adjective) – improbable, not likely, relinquish, renounce, forgo. doubtful, dubious. mitigate (verb) – reduce, lessen, decrease, demise (noun) – death, dying, passing away. make less severe. towering (adjective) – outstanding, leading, adverse (adjective) – unfavourable, distinguished, prominent. disadvantageous, bad. figure (noun) – person, personality. tie-up (noun) – link, association, relationship. decade (noun) – a period of ten years. cadre (noun) – members of a (political) group. ride on (phrasal verb) – depend on. prevail over (phrasal verb) – succeed, triumph, popular (adjective) – public, collective, social, be victorious, gain mastery, prove superior. societal. bastion (noun) – stronghold, bulwark, support, on one’s own (phrase) – alone, all alone, by protection, mainstay. oneself, all by oneself, independently, single- intact (adjective) – unbroken, undamaged, handedly. unharmed, uninjured, unimpaired. secure (verb) – obtain, acquire, gain, get. outgoing (adjective) – departing, leaving. ally (noun) – partner, supporting (political) regime (noun) – government. party (with common interests). loan waiver (noun) – the borrower (farmer) is end up (phrasal verb) – finish up, reach, come exempted from repayment of loan due to a to. poor monsoon or natural calamity and the draw (verb) – attract, interest, win, capture, Centre or State governments which offer loan catch the eye of. waiver, will take over the liability of farmers appeal (noun) – charisma, attraction, and repay the banks. allure/charm, drawing power, fascination. stand someone in good stead (phrase) – be base (noun) – a group of people considered as beneficial, be advantageous, be useful. supporting a (political) party. under/below par (phrase) – below average, amid (preposition) – in an atmosphere of, unsatisfactory, poor, bad. against a background of; during. add to (phrasal verb) – increase, augment, tally (noun) – total, count. enhance. interpret (verb) – explain, elucidate, clarify, go up (phrasal verb) – rise, increase. make clear; understand, read. aspirant (noun) – candidate, contestant, in terms of (phrase) – with regard to, contender. regarding/concerning, in connection with. consign (to) (phrasal verb) – to put campaign (noun) – canvassing, electioneering, (someone/something) in an unpleasant an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) situation/place (or) to put someone votes; an organized effort that seeks to somewhere in order to avoid dealing with them influence the decision-making progress within a (or) to put something somewhere in order to specific group. dispose it. fringe (noun) – border or outer edges. ************************************************************************************* KEEPING LEFT: ON KERALA ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS By reposing faith in the LDF, Kerala voters have sent a message to Congress and BJP too 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-750015 2 Ph. : 8093556677, 9040456677, Web :www.vanik.org, E-mail : [email protected] DAILY VOCAB DIGESTIVE (23rd-JUNE-2021) The spectacular victory of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Kerala Assembly election has put the spotlight on its lead author, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. His resolute leadership style and daring political experiments found resounding approval among the State’s electorate that re-elected an incumbent government for the first time in four decades. With this historic victory, Mr. Vijayan has further reinforced his already unassailable status as the supreme leader of the CPI(M) and the LDF. At 75, his challenge now will be to use his authority to transform the party so that its current dynamism outlasts his position in command. By replacing several old warhorses with fresh faces in the polls, he has already set the ball in motion. A transition in the CPI(M) — and the LDF — is under way and this will also be reflected in the choice of new Ministers. K.N. Balagopal, P. Rajeev and M.B. Rajesh could make the cut. Administrative challenges will be immense for the government, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic. The second successive defeat for the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) is not a warning signal, but a marching order for its listless, self-serving leaders. The current crop of Congress leaders is out of touch with the evolving Malayali. Instead of exchanging chairs with one another, they must all go at once and pave the way for imaginative and inspiring leaders. The BJP’s grand plans for Kerala have been dashed, and how. From 14.93% in 2016 to 12.47% this time, the BJP-led NDA vote share plummeted, but more notably, it got 4.29 lakh votes fewer. The BJP leaders are out of sync with Kerala, but the party’s slide is more because the people find its politics unacceptable. Centrist voters who considered the BJP as an option have been taken aback by its politics in Kerala and beyond. Some refreshing trends that run contrary to the national slant of BJP politics are evident. The new Kerala Assembly is a cross-section of the State’s religious diversity — with Hindu, Christian and Muslim communities finding representation in proportion to their populations. In terms of caste and gender this may not be true. A Hindu-majority constituency in Kerala chose a Muslim candidate (Congress) against the BJP’s Chief Ministerial face E. Sreedharan. The Indian Union Muslim League, a constituent of the UDF, saw its support shrinking, as the current generation of the community seeks new options. The CPI(M) has been relatively more successful in appreciating the myriad changes that are under way in Kerala and in responding to them. The Congress, which swept the Lok Sabha poll, will have opportunities to reinvent itself to pose a challenge to the Left in the Assembly election. But for the BJP, without a metamorphosis, Kerala will remain a nightmare, not a dream. repose (verb) – (of one’s confidence/trust) be incumbent (adjective) – present, existing, placed in something.