Editorial : Short-term window — on BSP shunning the Congress

Assembly Elections
The BSP shuts the door on the Congress for now, but gives itself some wiggle room.

Even as she shut the door on the Congress, the

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati left a window open. While calling off talks on an alliance(संधि/गठबंधन) with the Congress for the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Assembly elections, Ms. Mayawati kept(रखा) alive(जीवित) the possibility(संभावना/संभव) of an understanding for the Lok Sabha election. While she was unsparing(प्रचुर/निर्दय) in her criticism(समीक्षा/आलोचना) of the Congress interlocutors(वार्ताकारों), former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh in particular, for the failure to reach an electoral understanding, she declared that national-level leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had honest intentions(इरादे). Coming from Ms. Mayawati, this is high praise(प्रशंसा/स्तुति) indeed(वास्तव में।/निस्संदेह). For the BSP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are nowhere near as important as Uttar Pradesh, where it is fighting to regain lost ground. What matters most for Ms. Mayawati is an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in U.P. and not a tie-up with the Congress in these three States going to the polls later this year. Winning or losing a few seats in the three States does not matter as much as spreading(प्रचार/फैलाव) the reach of her organisation(संगठन/संस्था) by contesting in many constituencies. Although, unlike in Chhattisgarh where it allied with the breakaway(दूर करना/तितर-बितर हो जाना) Congress group of Ajit Jogi, the BSP does not have any viable electoral partners in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the party sees itself in a growth phase in these States and the risk seems worthwhile given the low stakes(हिस्सेदारी/जोखिम लेना/दाव).

What should worry leaders of both the Congress and the BSP is the war of words that could follow from the closure(समाप्ति/बन्द होना) of the alliance option. Congress functionaries(कार्यकर्त्ता /पदाधिकारियों)have indicated that Ms. Mayawati could be under pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party to go it alone and that she might have given in just in order to fend off the Central investigative(जांच) agencies. The BSP chief, never one to take kindly to personal attacks, responded by saying that Mr. Singh was afraid(भयभीत/डरा हुआ) of the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The fact remains that in Madhya Pradesh the Congress needs the BSP more than the BSP needs the Congress. For the Congress what is at stake is a shot at power in three crucial(महत्वपूर्ण) States where it is fighting the BJP directly. In at least two, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BSP’s vote share could be more than the gap between the victor and the loser. Quite conceivably, the results could cast a long shadow on the Lok Sabha election. If the Congress is unwilling(अनिच्छुक) to consider(विचार करें) apportioning(बांटना/विभाजन) more seats to the BSP, it is in no small measure due to its fear of the longer-term impact(प्रभाव) of conceding(स्वीकार करने/दिए ) space to another political animal in what is at present a two-horse race. But, sometimes, as the Congress may realise, there is no way of protecting long-term interests without securing(सुरक्षित करना/प्राप्त करना) the short-term.

Important Vocabulary

1.Criticism(समीक्षा/आलोचना)
Synonyms: assessment, comment, critique. judgment, opinion
Antonyms: heedlessness, neglect, approval, compliment, estimation

2.Spreading(प्रचार/फैलाव) 
Synonyms: growing, radial, widening,extensive, spread out
Antonyms: suppressed

3.Breakaway(दूर करना
Synonyms: breakaway, breakup, separation, defection, dissension
Antonyms: agreement, closing, closure, juncture, peace

4.Stakes(हिस्सेदारी/जोखिम लेना
Synonyms: pale, paling, picket, post, rod
Antonyms: whole

5.Afraid(भयभीत/डरा हुआ)
Synonyms: anxious, apprehensive, frightened, nervous, scared
Antonyms: brave, calm, happy, unafraid, unworried

6.Apportioning(बांटना/विभाजन)
Synonyms: administer, allocate, allot, distribute, divvy up
Antonyms: keep, withhold, combine, deny, hold

7.Conceding(स्वीकार करने/दिए 
Synonyms: accept, admit, allow, capitulate, cave in
Antonyms: defend, deny, disallow, disapprove, dispute

8. Unsparing(प्रचुर/निर्दय)
Synonyms: ruthless, abundant, bountiful, extravagant, free
Antonyms: gentle, merciful