Ghaziabad:
The Congress can exhale. The activists who work most closely with Anna Hazare say they have decided not to target the party in the Uttar Pradesh elections.
Earlier, Team Anna had threatened to campaign hard against the Congress as punishment for delivering a weak Lokpal Bill. The anti-corruption legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha in late December. However, the government ducked a vote on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha after it was obvious that it didn't have the numbers needed to push the bill through the Upper House.
Seventy four-year-old Anna at the time was on the first day of a hunger strike; he had to call off his fast because doctors warned his health was deteriorating rapidly. Another blow was delivered to Team Anna by poor turnout in Mumbai, where Anna had set up camp.
The activists then decided to re-think their strategy about taking on the Congress in the elections, and to chart their course for the next few months. Anna, who was recently released from a hospital in Pune, has been advised to rest for a month. His aides met today in Ghaziabad. They say that they will not target any one party in the coming elections in states like Punjab, UP and Uttarkhand.
In October, Team Anna campaigned vigorously against the Congress in Hisar in Haryana, which had to elect its Lok Sabha MP. The Congress candidate lost his deposit, but the party had fallen out of favour with voters in this area for a while, so the defeat of the Congress was not really a Team Anna-delivered victory.
Team Anna was criticised for playing a political role by supporters of their campaign including Justice Santosh Hegde, who has been a major face of the India Against Corruption campaign fronted by Anna.
The activists have also been accused by the Congress of a thinly-veiled affiliation with the BJP and its parent-body, the RSS.
Earlier, Team Anna had threatened to campaign hard against the Congress as punishment for delivering a weak Lokpal Bill. The anti-corruption legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha in late December. However, the government ducked a vote on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha after it was obvious that it didn't have the numbers needed to push the bill through the Upper House.
Seventy four-year-old Anna at the time was on the first day of a hunger strike; he had to call off his fast because doctors warned his health was deteriorating rapidly. Another blow was delivered to Team Anna by poor turnout in Mumbai, where Anna had set up camp.
The activists then decided to re-think their strategy about taking on the Congress in the elections, and to chart their course for the next few months. Anna, who was recently released from a hospital in Pune, has been advised to rest for a month. His aides met today in Ghaziabad. They say that they will not target any one party in the coming elections in states like Punjab, UP and Uttarkhand.
In October, Team Anna campaigned vigorously against the Congress in Hisar in Haryana, which had to elect its Lok Sabha MP. The Congress candidate lost his deposit, but the party had fallen out of favour with voters in this area for a while, so the defeat of the Congress was not really a Team Anna-delivered victory.
Team Anna was criticised for playing a political role by supporters of their campaign including Justice Santosh Hegde, who has been a major face of the India Against Corruption campaign fronted by Anna.
The activists have also been accused by the Congress of a thinly-veiled affiliation with the BJP and its parent-body, the RSS.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
