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After the fractured(खंडित/भंग करना) verdict(निर्णय/फ़ैसला) in Karnataka and the hastily(शीघ्रता पूर्वक/फ़ौरन) concluded(निष्कर्ष निकालना/समापन करना) post-poll marriage of convenience(सहूलियत/सुविधा) between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), the Bharatiya Janata Party had the option of taking the high moral ground as the single largest party that was thwarted(बिगाड़ना/नकाम बनाना) by the opportunistic(अवसरवादी) politics of its rivals(प्रतिद्वंद्वियों). Instead, the BJP chose to mud-wrestle its way to power by pulling strings(तार/रस्सी) at the Raj Bhavan and trying to entice(लुभाने/फुसलाना) newly elected members of other parties. The end-result was predictable: the party had dirt all over and nothing to show for it. B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned rather than face a vote of confidence that he was sure to lose, but not before the BJP’s brazen attempts to buy votes and support were exposed. The BJP took a serious dent to its image at the national level, and was left without both power and the moral authority to attack the political opportunism of the Congress and the JD(S). Althoughparallels(समानांतर/समानताएं) have been drawn to the BJP’s Operation Lotus that engineered defections in 2008, the situation was different then. The BJP was only three short of a majority in a House with six Independents, many of whom were eager to offer their support. And, unlike now, no combination(मेल/गुटबंदी) of parties that excluded the BJP could have commanded a majority.
The deal-clincher(आंकडा) for the Congress now was its readiness to hand over the post of Chief Minister to the JD(S), a course of action it did not contemplate in 2004 when it formed a post-poll coalition with the JD(S). The Congress-JD(S) government did not last the full term then, and the JD(S) formed a short-lived government with the BJP’s help. In the face of the BJP juggernaut in the post-2014 phase, the Congress seems to have adopted a new pragmatism(हस्तक्षेप/व्यवहारवाद) thatrecognises(पहचानता/स्वीकार करना) the importance of smaller players. Some of this was seen in Gujarat, where the Congressaccommodated(समायोजित/अनुकूल बनाना) different caste and identity groups in stitching(जोड़ना। ) together a broad social coalition against the BJP. In Karnataka, it went one step further in the post-poll situation, allowing the JD(S) the leadership of the government despite(के बावजूद/विरोध से) winning more seats. Regional parties such as the Trinamool Congress have been suggesting that the Congress vacate political space for parties best equipped to fight the BJP. A more pragmatic, more humble Congress is what they want at the head of an Opposition alliance ahead of 2019. But, for the same reason that the Congress found it easier to stitch together a post-poll understanding than a pre-poll alliance with the JD(S), seat-sharing will be difficult where there are three-way contests(संघर्ष करना/प्राप्त करने का दावा करना). The BJP’s misadventure in Karnataka may have brought the Congress and the JD(S) closer, but this is no blueprint for 2019. Pre-poll alliances are not made without the pain of defeat and the hard knocks of reality.
Important Vocabulary
1.Fractured(खंडित/भंग करना)
Synonyms: broken, cracked, damaged, divided, mangled
Antonyms: OK, fixed, unbroken, working, certain
2.Hastily(शीघ्रता पूर्वक/फ़ौरन)
Synonyms: carelessly, hurriedly, nimbly, prematurely, promptly
Antonyms: slowly, delayed
3.Entice(लुभाने/फुसलाना)
Synonyms: attract, beguile, cajole, coax, seduce
Antonyms: repel, repulse, turn off, disenchant, disgust
4.Parallels(समानांतर/समानताएं)
Synonyms: analogy, comparison, corollary, resemblance, similarity
Antonyms: difference, dissimilarity, unlikeness, divergence, opposite
5.Pragmatism(हस्तक्षेप/व्यवहारवाद)
Synonyms: disdain, airs, assumption, cockiness, conceit
Antonyms: humility, meekness, modesty, reality, realness
6.Accommodated(समायोजित/अनुकूल बनाना)
Synonyms: contain, entertain, hold, rent, shelter
Antonyms: reject, turn away, bar, block, disarrange
