Indian Prime Minister Resigns Following Surprise Election De

Patricia Nunan

In a surprise upset, India's Congress Party has beaten the party of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in national parliamentary elections. The Congress Party, led by Sonia Gandhi, is expected to form a new government and announce a prime minister in the next few days.

Even people before all the votes were counted, Congress Party supporters began to celebrate, beating drums, lighting¹ fireworks and dancing in the street outside the home of Sonia Gandhi, the party leader.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee formally stepped down, after results showed a shock defeat of the coalition² he heads, the National Democratic Alliance.

Leaders from the prime minister's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, and its allies have expressed surprise at the outcome. Mr. Vajpayee called the election six months earlier than necessary, after a string of political successes. Earlier this year, India reopened peace talks with neighboring Pakistan, after months of deadlock³. India's economy also grew by seven percent last year, making it one of the world's fastest growing.

Hoping to capitalize on those successes, the BJP campaign slogan was India Shining. But analysts⁵ say the campaign backfired, because it only highlighted the poverty afflicting⁷ millions of rural Indians.

The Congress Party says it will began meet Thursday to choose the new prime minister and to plan the new government. Analysts say Mrs. Gandhi, who was born in Italy, is a strong possibility to serve as prime minister. As the widow of the assassinated⁹ prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, many Indians regard her as heir to the Gandhi political dynasty. But to others, she is unacceptable, because of her foreign birth.

That might lead to a compromise Inder Malhotra, a political analyst⁴ and the author of a book on the Gandhi family.

"One formula could be that Mrs. Gandhi continues to be the chairperson of the coordination¹⁰ committee of the new coalition that is to be formed," he said. "And, she nominates somebody else as the Congress Party leader, who leads the government. It's too soon to say. "

India is the world's largest democracy. The election took place in five stages over a three-week period, to accommodate the movement of hundreds of polling and security personnel around the country.
注释：
India's Congress Party  印度国大党
parliamentary [7pB:lE5mentEri] adj. 议会的
beating drums  击鼓
lighting firework  放烟花
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 瓦杰帕依（印度前总理）
step down  辞职
National Democratic Alliance  全国民主联盟
Bharatiya Janata Party （BJP）印度人民党
outcome [5autkQm] n. 结果
string [striN] n. 一串
Pakistan [7pB:kis5tB:n] n. 巴基斯坦（南亚国家）
deadlock [5dedlCk] n. 僵局
capitalize on  利用
slogan [5slEu^En] n. 口号，标语
India Shining  “印度大放光芒”（印度人民党的竞选口号）
backfire [bAk5faIE(r)] v. 产生适得其反的恶果
afflict⁶ [E5flikt] vt. 使痛苦, 折磨
assassinate⁸ [E5sAsineit] vt. 暗杀
heir [ZE] n. 后嗣
dynasty [5dinEsti] n. 王朝
Gandhi family  甘地家族
formula [5fC:mjulE] n. 规则
nominate [5nCmineit] vt. 任命
accommodate [E5kCmEdeit] vt. 容纳，供给

 

1 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 afflict   

vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨

参考例句：

• I wish you wouldn't afflict me with your constant complains.我希望你不要总是抱怨而使我苦恼。
• There are many illnesses,which afflict old people.有许多疾病困扰着老年人。

7 afflicting   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是困扰现代社会的严重问题之一。
• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。

8 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

9 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

10 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。