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Reverse migration: On the politics of defections
Political mobilisation based on opportunistic defection can only offer limited purchase
Leaders switching parties and parties recruiting turncoats are not unheard of in Indian politics. A
shrinking party would lose leaders while an expanding party would gain them. The talent acquisition
strategy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) goes far beyond such familiar opportunism. In the
recent years of its growth, it has built entire electoral strategies around leaders who crossed over
from other parties. In Assam, its two consecutive Chief Ministers were in other parties not long ago;
the current incumbent, Himanta Biswa Sarma, was not just any other Congress leader but a decision
maker in the 15-year-long tenure of the party until 2016. Perhaps encouraged by the success in
Assam, the party launched a similar strategy in West Bengal. It recruited dozens of leaders from
other parties, particularly the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Not surprisingly, a good number of the
leaders who crossed over to the BJP due to its lure or fear of the central agencies investigating
scams and irregularities, are now flocking back to the TMC. Even as it continued to induct defectors
from the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi this week, Mukul Roy left the BJP to return to
the comfort of his old party, the TMC. Several others may follow suit. The TMC itself is a haven of
defectors — dozens of leaders from the Congress and the Left Front have joined it since it won
power in 2011. The political flux is unlikely to end soon.
The BJP has achieved significant growth in West Bengal in a short span of time. Had it relied more
on leaders who had organically grown with it, the BJP would not have been in such an embarrassing
position. Its hurry to be in power even in places where it has not established itself as a viable party
is harming it. It is also coarsening the political debate and harming democracy itself, simultaneously.
If the reverse migration of TMC leaders is rattling the BJP in West Bengal, in Kerala, another State
where it tried to punch far above its weight, it is caught in a vortex of corruption allegations.
Allegations range from bringing money from Karnataka for the campaign in Kerala through hawala
routes and bribing an ally. The leaders that the BJP recruited from other parties in Kerala have
added up to nothing. All this should point the BJP towards the virtue of patience, which is not
unfamiliar to it. Replacing grassroots activism with large-scale defections from other parties can
only win short-term rewards, if at all. In the long run, such trends undermine the parties, the
persons involved and the democratic processes. The BJP must learn to be more modest in victory
and gracious in defeat. Tactics too focused on the short term can only harm the larger interest over
the longer term.
[word: 465] [Practice Exercise]
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Vocabulary
1. Reverse migration (noun) – it mean to 13. tenure (noun) – term, time, period
come back to its old position or place ल
after going to somewhere.
14. Perhaps (adverb) – maybe, possibly.
2. Defection (noun) – desertion,
द
absconding, decamping. दल-बदल
15. Lure (noun) – temptation, enticement,
3. Mobilisation (noun) – the act of bringing
attraction. , ल , लल
people together for a particular cause.
ल बद , , 16. Central agencies (noun) – It is CBI, NIA,
ED, Income tax department, etc.
4. opportunistic (adjective) – selfish, self-
centred, egocentric, द 17. irregularity (noun) – impropriety,
incorrectness, wrongdoing, ,
5. Purchase (noun) – advantage, support,
grip, leverage. द, ल
18. Flock (verb) – go in large numbers.
6. Switch (verb) – change, shift. बदल
,
7. Turncoat (noun) – traitor, defector,
19. Induct (verb) – admit to, allow into,
deserter, betrayer. द ,
introduce to. द ल
8. Unheard (adjective) – new, unknown,
20. defector (noun) – betrayer, turncoat,
unfamiliar. ,
traitor दलबदल,
9. shrinking (adjective) – declining,
21. follow suit (phrase) – emulate, copy,
dwindling ल,
follow, द , ल
10. Opportunism (noun) – expediency, ,
exploitation, realism. द,
22. Haven (noun) – a place of safety, place of
security, shelter. ,
11. Cross over (verb) – to change side from
23. Flux (noun) – instability, unsteadiness,
one to another. बदल
unpredictability. ,
12. Incumbent (noun) – the present holder or
occupant of an office. द
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24. Unlikely (adjective) – improbable, not remote associate to pay the final
likely, doubtful. recipient.
36. Bribe (verb) – buy off, pay off, corrupt.
25. Span (noun) – period, time, duration.
द , द
37. ally (noun) – partner, friend, supporter
26. Rely on (phrasal verb) – depend on.
38. Add up to nothing (phrase) – to result
27. organically (adverb) – naturally, orderly,
in nothing. ल
,
39. Virtue (noun) – good quality, attribute
28. Embarrassing (adjective) – awkward,
द , ,
uncomfortable,. द
40. Grassroots (noun as modifier) – the most
29. hurry (noun) – haste, urgency, ल , basic levels of an organisation.
दब
30. viable (adjective) – reasonable, practical 41. activism (noun) – involvement,
campaigning द, ,
द
31. coarsen (verb) – make something
unpleasant द ब 42. If at all (phrase) – It indicates that
something is unlikely to happen, if it does
32. rattle (verb) – disturb, discomfit ल happen, but it happens in a restricted
way.
,
43. Undermine (verb) – reduce, diminish,
33. Punch above one’s weight (phrase) – try weaken. , दबल
to achieve or perform at a higher level
than expected. 44. Modest (adjective) – humble, fair. ,
ल
34. vortex (noun) – whirlwind, whirlpool,
gyre, maelstrom ब , , 45. Gracious (adjective) – courteous, polite,
civilized, द ल,
35. Hawala (noun) – A system or agency for
46. Tactic (noun) - strategy, scheme,
transferring money traditionally used in
stratagem, plan, set of tactics, Manoeuvre
the Muslim world, whereby the money is
paid to an agent who then instructs a , ,
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Practice Exercise
Directions (Q1 – Q4): Select the best express synonym of the given words [Editorial Page]
1. Lure
A. Rudimentary
B. Prodigious
C. Choleric
D. Temptation
2. Turncoat
A. Parody
B. Defector
C. Succumb
D. Intrinsic
3. Flux
A. Instability
B. Furtive
C. Plethora
D. Proponent
4. Gracious
A. Founder
B. Labyrinth
C. Courteous
D. Succumb
5. Fill the suitable word in the given blanks [Answers]
We were caught in a ………………………. Of water
A. Mobilisation
B. Rattle
C. Flux
D. Vortex
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Answers
1. D 2.B 3.A 4.C 5.D [Practice Exercise]
Explanations
Sr.NO Words Meanings
Q1 Rudimentary adjective Basic; crude; unreformed or ल
undeveloped
Prodigious adjective Extraordinary; enormous
Choleric adjective Hot tempered; quick to anger
Q2 Parody noun A satirical imitation
Succumb verb To yield or submit; to die
Intrinsic adjective Part of the essential nature of
something; inherent
Q3 Furtive adjective Secretive; sly ,
Plethora noun An excess ब
Proponent noun An advocate; a support of a
position
Q4 Founder verb To fail; to collapse; to sink ल ,
ल
Labyrinth noun A maze; something like a maze. ल ल
Succumb verb To yield or submit; to die
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