Editorial : Old vs new: how the Congress chooses CMs

The Congress must strengthen its democratic processes while choosing CMs
Whether the Congress erred(ग़लती करना) in privileging(विशेष अधिकार देना) members of the old guard to lead the governments in Rajasthan, Madhya

Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh has become a subject of debate(बहस). Those who argue(तर्क करना/उलझ जाना) that it missed a trick in not picking Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia as Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh may well be right. These choices may have signalled( संकेत दिया) a readiness( तैयारी ) to be bold and break the old mould. But the real question to ask of the party is how it arrived at the choice of its Chief Ministers. Members of the Congress Legislature(विधानमंडल) Party in the three States left the choice to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, making a mockery(मज़ाक/उपहास) of democratic(लोकतांत्रिक ) conventions(सभा/सम्मेलन) and the electoral mandate(शासनादेश).Although the Congress is not the only party that is guilty(दोषी) of such practices, it has become something of a custom,mirroring(प्रतिबिंब डालना) the leadership’s(नेतृत्व ) distrust(अविश्वास) of developing strong regional leaders. In this case, the final choice may well have reflected (प्रतिबिंबित)the wishes of a majority(बहुमत/अधिकांश) of the members of the CLPs of the three States, but the Congress still needed to signal the all-powerful nature of the office of the party president in the selection. Closed-door discussions(चर्चाएँ) and opaque (अस्पष्ट/अपारदर्शी) deal-making preceded the final announcement of the nominees(नामांकित व्यक्तियों), to be elected “unanimously”(सर्वसम्मति से”)” in another meeting of the CLP. In Rajasthan, the party opted for two-time Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who had lost two elections, over Mr. Pilot, the State Congress president. Mr. Pilot, despite(बावजूद/विरोध) his role in the campaign(मुहिम/अभियान), did not have the support of the old guard. His detractors(विरोधियों/आलोचक) like to point out that he did not take the Congress to a comfortable(आरामदेह/सुखद) majority, what Mr. Gehlot had done as the campaign spearhead in 1998 and 2008. But the Congress leadership has opted in the end for experience over youthful dynamism(गतिशीलता।). The compromise(समझौता) was in the form of the deputy chief ministership for Mr. Pilot.

In Madhya Pradesh, the decision was relatively(अपेक्षाकृत ) easy. It was the president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee, Kamal Nath, who fronted the campaign. Former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had his fair share of supporters, but it was Mr. Nath, who is far senior, who was perceived(माना जाता है) as having a bigger claim(दावा) to the post. Those in the Congress calling for blooding youngsters may well have to accept the sober(शांत/संयमी) reality that this will only come about as part of a longer, deeper process. Of course, it takes more than a change at the helm to bring about a politicalreorientation( पुनर्विचार). The process will have to start at the organisational level and extend(विस्तार) to the distribution of the party ticket. To allow the space for the party to grow, Mr. Gandhi needs to accelerate(गति बढ़ाना/तेज़ करना) the process of letting leaders from the grassroots(जमीनी स्तर पर) to emerge(उभरने ). Youth leaders of any significance today are of the second or third generation in the party. A good way to start would be by decentralising power and not concentrating(इकट्ठा करना/ध्यान दे)it in the so-called high command, a feeble(कमजोर ) euphemism(व्यंजना) for the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Important Vocabulary

1. Erred(ग़लती करना)
Synonyms: misbehave, miscalculate, stray, stumble, blow
Antonyms: behave, obey, stay, understand, correct

2. Privileging(विशेष अधिकार देना)
Synonyms: accredit, allow, certify, empower, enable
Antonyms: deny, disallow, disapprove, refuse, reject

3. Debate(बहस). 
Synonyms: argument, contest, controversy, deliberation, dispute
Antonyms: agreement, peace, quiet, harmony

4. Argue(तर्क करना/उलझ जाना)
Synonyms: contend, disagree, dispute, quarrel, quibble
Antonyms: agree, concur, give in, make peace, abstain

5. Mockery(मज़ाक/उपहास)
Synonyms: farce, sham, travesty, burlesque, butt
Antonyms: honesty, openness, truth, flattery, praise

6. Distrust(अविश्वास) 
Synonyms: disbelief, doubt, misgiving, mistrust, skepticism
Antonyms: belief, certainty, confidence, faith, trust

7. Majority(बहुमत/अधिकांश)
Synonyms: bulk, mass, max, more, preponderance
Antonyms: inferiority, adolescence, childhood, minority, secondary

8. Despite(बावजूद/विरोध)
Synonyms: against, although, even though, even with, in contempt of

9. Detractors(विरोधियों/आलोचक)
Synonyms: critic, censor, defamer, depreciator

10. Perceived(माना जाता है) 
Synonyms: anticipated, recognized, felt, grasped, heard

11. Accelerate(गति बढ़ाना/तेज़ करना) 
Synonyms: advance, expedite, further, hasten, open up
Antonyms: block, cease, check, delay, discourage

12. Grassroots(जमीनी स्तर पर) 
Synonyms: central, constitutional, crucial, elemental, elementary, essential
Antonyms: accessory, auxiliary, extrinsic, inessential, insignificant

13. Emerge(उभरने ).
Synonyms: appear, arrive, come up, crop up, develop
Antonyms: abandon, decrease, disappear, drop, fall

14. Concentrating(इकट्ठा करना/ध्यान दे)
Synonyms: apply, establish, fixate, focus, intensify
Antonyms: confuse, unsettle, disregard, forget, ignore