The party wants to benefit from Anna Hazare’s campaign against the Congress but would not like him to share its political space.
The BJP never had any doubts about its ally, the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) nominee Kuldeep Bishnoi, winning the Hisar seat, still it was banking on capitalising on the anger being fanned against the Congress by Team Anna. More so as two key members of the team, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia had campaigned actively against the Congress candidate.
Well, the Congress did lose about 50,000 votes as compared to the 2009 elections, but the slender margin of Bishnoi’s victory, hardly more than 6,000 votes, has made both the BJP and Bishnoi deny Team Anna of any credit for this victory. They both hailed the victory as people’s anger against a corrupt Congress government at the Centre. The political dilemma for the BJP is that it doesn’t want to be seen too close to Hazare so as to allow a non-political player like him grab any share of its space.
“Anna had appealed for the defeat of the Congress party and not for victory of any candidate. The Congress is neck-deep in corruption which is why it lost the Hisar seat. This is a victory of the people and of those who are raising their voice against corruption.
The way the Congress has tried to suppress agitations is deplorable. The nation was watching how the Congress was engaged in a cover-up of corruption cases which is why Congress has been reduced to the Number 3 party in the by-polls,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “Hisar wasn’t a Congress seat so it’s hardly indicative of anything in the scheme of things. Does anyone else think Team Anna should have chosen a seat Congress was sure to win and then tested their ability to manipulate the result?”
Yet, the BJP has started exploring ways and means of using Hazare in its favour for the forthcoming assembly elections in some crucial states like Uttar Pradesh. Even while distancing itself from Hazare, the BJP wants to remain in his good books and get benefit of public sympathy garnered by his movement. LK Advani’s rath yatra is one such attempt to ride on Hazare’s wave.
Like Bishnoi, who had openly announced to support Hazare’s Jan Lokpal Bill against corruption, the BJP now plans to ask all it candidates to touch the raw nerve of people. Corruption will remain the main talking point. “Hazare’s campaign can help in shifting the urban votes to some extent and it is there where we have to work harder,” said a BJP leader. Bishnoi after his victory said he will push for the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament. The BJP too would like to give an impression that if voted to power it will support Hazare’s cause. Party leaders made it clear they want to use Hazare’s anger to their favour.
Meanwhile, after the Hisar by-poll, the BJP declared that its alliance with HJC for the Haryana assembly and the next Lok Sabha elections. The BJP plans to contest eight Lok Sabha seats and give two to HJC while in the assembly polls both parties will share seats. “If we come to power, HJC candidate will be chief minister for the first two and a half years,” Hussain said.
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