Politics Of Polarisation

The results of the 2024 US presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is polarisation? Polarisation means division, but it's a very specific kind of division, said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster's editor at large, in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press ahead of Monday's announcement. Polarisation means that we are tending toward the extremes rather than toward the centre. The election was so divisive, many American voters went to the polls with a feeling that the opposing candidate was an existential threat to the nation. According to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters, about 8 in 10 Kamala Harris voters were very or somewhat concerned that Donald Trump's views but not Harris' were too extreme, while about 7 in 10 Trump voters felt the same way about Harris but not Trump. The Merriam-Webster

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Ladki Bahin scheme, women's participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation may have played a role in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls. He said the election results, declared on Saturday, are not on the expected lines but he would revitalise the party. Responding to a query on his retirement from active politics, Pawar tersely said he and his party colleagues will decide. Speaking to reporters in Karad city in Satara district, Pawar acknowledged that the NCP led by his nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar secured more seats than the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), adding "Everyone knows who founded the NCP". "The Ladki Bahin scheme and religious polarisation played a role. Women's participation in large numbers could be the reason for the Mahayuti sweep in Maharashtra. We will study the reasons for the debacle and take necessary steps," he said. Pawar asserted that the NCP (SP) would go to people by ...

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Politics has become a profession of power and money, and ceased to be a service, former Solicitor General of India Justice N Santosh Hegde rued on the country's independence day. Speaking to PTI here, the retired Judge of the Supreme Court also said there should an all out effort to inculcate two social values -- contentment and humanism -- so that there could be solidarity and peace in the society. Before independence many in the country fought against foreign rule and for independence without any monetary gain; it was because of their love for the country, it was a sacrifice, he recalled. After independence people joined politics as a service to the nation and for a few decades elected representatives had no salary. Only their actual expenses were paid, the former Karnataka Lokayukta pointed out. The role of an elected representative was only to attend the proceedings of their elected bodies like the Parliament or State Assemblies. The elected bodies' proceedings were for a perio

NC vice president Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed concern over the "dangerous game" of polarisation "being played" in India and claimed that even his party is being looked at with suspicion

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