The Hisar Connection--Team Anna Claims Victory!

Article first published as The Hisar Connection--Team Anna Claims Victory! on Technorati.

The suspense drama over the Hisar by-election has finally ended. Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) supported by the country’s main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), won the three-cornered contest.

Bishnoi won only by a narrow margin over the nearest rival Ajay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The congress candidate came as the distant third—almost the same scenario of 2009 general elections.

The irrepressible Team Anna member, Arvind Kejriwal, has already claimed victory and sent out a message to the ruling coalition led by Congress that ‘the result is a lesson to learn from’. But the winning candidate dismisses Team Anna’s campaign as ‘no impact’! The Congress too writes off any Anna effect as it never won the seat since 2004.

Now, Bishnoi is the son of Bhajan Lal, a former Chief Minister of Haryana, who won this seat in 2009 and it became vacant on his death subsequently. Chautala is also a son of another former Chief Minister of the state and the fight was basically between these two. The only difference between them could be that the Chautala rule had more records of corruption cases!

The real twist for Bishnoi came from the last minute BJP support and exactly here the Anna effect could be palpable, because the BJP has been reaping the maximum mileage out of Team Anna’s anti-Congress or rather anti-Corruption campaign. Thanks to the huge scams unearthed during last two years the Congress has come to be literally identified with corruption. And Congress being in the ruling coalition or the government is naturally the only target. Corruption is common to most political parties, but only the party in power becomes the big target.

Kejriwal is quick to clarify that Team Anna opposed the Congress candidate only and did not support the other candidates. But once you dabble in politics things get really complex.

Since Anna Hazare in now ‘silent’ and his team is in a critical transition, the final word on the new political identity of Team Anna cannot be delivered as yet. Team Anna must realize their responsibilities better, because the millions supporting a noble cause may be easily misguided by petty politicking and insincere words.

In another by-poll in Anna’s home state of Maharashtra a sure-shot candidate jointly supported by the Congress was defeated by the BJP, though by the narrowest of margins. The significant fact is that the said candidate was the wife of the earlier candidate belonging of course to a different party who expired recently. Now, this could the real impact of the Anna wave.

But finally, what matters is what a political party does after being voted into power!

The Hisar Connection!

Article first published as The Hisar Connection! on Technorati.

Anna Hazare, the great crusader against corruption in India, and his civil society members had campaigned heavily to get the candidate of Congress, main political party in the ruling coalition of India, defeated in the Hisar by-election for Indian Parliament held on October 13, 2011.

Hisar is situated in the Indian state of Haryana. What would have been a routine listless by-election on account of the death of the seating candidate has become a nationwide rage thanks to Anna Hazare and his team’s campaign as a part of the mass movement against corruption.

Team Anna had been asserting continuously their apolitical character and that they had no political ambitions. They said their only motive was to pressurize the government for the fast passage of a strong anti-corruption Bill in the winter session of Parliament starting November, 2011. But once you ask the people not to vote for a particular candidate you are indirectly supporting the rival candidates and by all accepted standards this means politicking. So, there had been ongoing mud-slinging and political banter.

The polling in Hisar was over seventy percent.

The Congress party is said to be resigned to defeat because it was the only seat the party lost in its sweeping victory in 2009 general elections in Haryana. So, only a worse than 2009 loss could mean some victory for Team Anna and if such a thing happens then Anna is most likely to claim it as the verdict of the masses against corruption.

But claiming any political victory amounts to a political victory only and by accepting it Team Anna’s avowed apolitical character is set to take a beating. In case of a surprise win for the Congress the scenario would be the worst for Team Anna. Apart from losing their apolitical character this would amount to a demoralizing political failure.

All attention is focused on the outcome expected tomorrow, October 17, 2011. But meantime Anna has started his vow of silence for self-purification from today. Now, with all the confusing questions and claims for victory or defeat Anna is going to be silent. If the onus of answering or claiming fall on the disputed members of Team Anna…well…confusion is likely to be confounded!

Whatever happens, the Hisar Connection is finally going to establish Team Anna’s political character beyond doubt.

Whether a civil society leading a mass movement against corruption should become a political body or not would be altogether a separate topic of intense debate set to continue indefinitely.