Saffron allies employ Anna's clout

The war bugle sounded by veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare against the Congress party seems to have been taken up, albeit with a twist, by the saffron alliance for the Khadakwasla by-election.

Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Republic Party of India (RPI)called on the voters to “listen to Anna’s cry” and to vote against the “corrupt coalition” of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress combine when voting.

Deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, Gopinath Munde, state party chief Sudhir Mungantiwar, leader of the Shiv Sena in the state assembly Subhas Desai, MP from Maval Gajanan Baba, RPI leader Ramdas Athawale, and other senior leaders from the alliance addressed a massive rally in Pune on Monday, to campaign for the coalition candidate, Bhimrao Tapkir.

Hazare had announced that he would appeal to voters not to vote for the Congress if the party did not promise a strong Lokpal Bill.
The death of lone Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) candidate, Ramesh Wanjale, in July had vacated this seat, voting for which is scheduled to be held on Thursday.

Tapkir is contesting the by-polls against Wanjale’s widow, Harshada, who is contesting as the NCP-Congress candidate for the Khadakwasla assembly seat. Munde’s sharing the dais with Mungantiwar assumed significance, given the rift between both leaders. Munde had kept away from the campaign trail.

At Monday’s rally the BJP’s city unit president, Vikas Mathkari, was conspicuous by his absence, but cadres of the city unit were presentas a show of unity for the party.

Munde in particular stated, “Anna has asked people not to vote for the Congress as it is corrupt. His men are whole-heatedly campaigning against the party in Hisar (Haryana). So you as voters have to listen to Anna and vote against the corrupt Congress-NCP alliance in this by-poll.”

NCP leader and deputy chief minister of the state, Ajit Pawar, was the target of criticism by speakers. Munde declared Harshada was not official candidate of either the NCP or the Congress but of Ajit Pawar himself. “Journalists are busy analysing my absence from the campaign. They should ask why the chief minister of the state (Prithviraj Chavan) is absent from the scene,” he said.

He blamed the ruling alliance for lack of development in Pune and Khadakwasla. “The development plan of the the city has not been passed and the chief minister claims he is not able to do so because the NCP has reservations on it,” he said.