2007年VOA标准英语-Election Prompts Power Shift in Influential Ind

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
11 May 2007

A political party with socialist¹ leanings has regained² power in India's most politically influential³ state. VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi on a state election that is likely have implications for Indian national politics.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supporters dance with news of their candidate leading during counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh state elections in Allahabad, 11 May 2007

A political party committed to ending oppression of the downtrodden by upper castes has taken an absolute majority of state legislative⁴ seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Supporters of the Bahujan Samaj Party, known as the BSP, celebrated⁵ their victory Friday as it became clear their party had made huge gains and is returning to power.

BSP leader Mayawati gave credit for the victory to support from beyond the party's traditional base among those at the bottom of India's caste system.

Mayawati says this time, the party enjoyed support across the spectrum⁶, including upper castes and Muslims.

The results are a significant setback⁷ for the country's two largest political parties.

The Congress Party - intertwined with the Gandhi family dynasty - traditionally enjoyed deep support in India's most populous⁸ state. But this time it captured only about 20 of the 402 seats up for grabs, despite high-profile campaigning by party leader Sonia Gandhi and her son and heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi.

A Congress spokeswoman, Jayanti Natarajan, told reporters her party is already looking to the next round of nationwide elections.

"We've not done as well as we would have hoped to do. But 2009 is still ahead of us," said Natarajan. "We will work better, we will work harder and we will always be very important and relevant."

The main national opposition⁹ group, the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP, fared better than Congress. But it also lost seats, dashing its hopes that the results in Uttar Pradesh would spark a nationwide revival¹⁰.

Both the BJP and Congress were bested by the (Samajwadi) Socialist Party, known as SP, whose core supporters are other lower castes and Muslims.

However, the SP also saw support plunge¹¹, forcing it to relinquish¹² control of the state government back to its rival after three and a half years in power.

The political shift in Uttar Pradesh will have ramifications¹³ for the nationwide political landscape.

The SP is a nominal¹⁴ supporter of the Congress-led central government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Uttar Pradesh, home to 170 million people, has more members of parliament than any other state, and half of the country's prime ministers have come from there.

Mayawati will again become chief minister of Uttar Pradesh - her fourth time heading the state. During a previous stint¹⁵ she prompted outrage¹⁶ from conservationists when she proposed building a shopping complex and amusement park next to the Taj Mahal. The project was eventually scrapped¹⁷.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

8 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

11 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

12 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

13 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 nominal   

adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的

参考例句：

• The king was only the nominal head of the state. 国王只是这个国家名义上的元首。
• The charge of the box lunch was nominal.午餐盒饭收费很少。

15 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

16 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

17 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。