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Anna’s diminishing returns by Jaideep Hardikar

At the peak of Anna Hazare’s fast in Delhi last year, some of his former aides in Maharashtra had cautioned that he should not get carried away by the hype.

Last week, at Mumbai’s thinly populated MMRDA Grounds where his latest agitation flopped, there were a few lessons for Hazare and his team. One being: never take people for granted.

Some of Hazare’s former associates suggest that the craze that the Lokpal agitation initially worked up did not amount to genuine political support: it was “virtual support”, created partly by the 24x7 TV coverage.

“In retrospect, it was a virtual movement that could never address the genesis of corruption,” said Aurangabad-based economist H.M. Desarda, a socialist and a onetime Hazare comrade.

The agitation was limited to demanding a law, Desarda said. “Yes, a law is necessary but you also need to carry out systemic reforms.”

A two-part series this reporter had written after touring Hazare’s home village following the Ramlila Maidan protest had cited some of his former aides’ doubts about the long-term success of his campaign.

The articles (‘Home voices against Anna’, carried on October 24, and ‘Hazare’s teams that wilted away’, published on October 25), had described how Hazare’s dictatorial ways and lack of vision had prompted many to part ways with him.

A blunter assessment came on Sunday from a politician, Sharad Pawar telling a Marathi news channel that Hazare’s agitation was over.

Pawar’s claim was perhaps influenced by the results of the December municipal council polls in Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, which had made corruption its main plank, derived no mileage from Hazare’s campaign and was drubbed.

Hazare’s sarcastic quip about “just one slap” — after a man had struck Pawar — appeared to lower the crusader’s image if not help the NCP politically.

Pawar now says he doesn’t expect the “Anna factor” to work in the poll-bound states or in the upcoming rural and urban elections in Maharashtra.

A former Hazare aide in Ahmednagar had an explanation. “He commands respect all over, but the moment he and his team turned the campaign against the Congress, his agitation was bound to fail,” the ex-aide said. “What reason do you give to people when you turn against a single party when the people know that corruption permeates almost every political party?”

Timing woes

Some of Hazare’s former comrades in Pune said the crusader had always been immaculate with the timing of his movements, but not this time.

In a drought-hit Maharashtra, Hazare had backed the watershed development movement; when the country was discussing decentralisation, he led a campaign for power to the panchayats. In the past decade, it was the RTI campaign. Then, it was corruption at a time of gigantic scams.

But by the time the Mumbai leg of the campaign came, public anger at the Commonwealth Games and 2G scams had ebbed.

One of Hazare’s former aides in Ralegan said even the crusader’s home village thought that the December fast was unwarranted. “His health didn’t permit him to go on a fast; but he was perhaps persuaded by his core team members.”

A former sarpanch of Ralegan, Sadashiv Mapari, said that Hazare was a simple village man with a spotless character. His straightforwardness, integrity and resolve, his simple eating habits — all of this makes the villagers adore and respect him.

This is what turned Hazare’s Ralegan model of the 1970s and 1980s into such a success. However, the success was based on his authority and villagers’ acquiescence —he set goals and people followed, any lapse inviting sanctions.

But what worked in one village in a particular socio-political context later failed when the government tried to replicate the story in over 300 villages under Hazare’s leadership. Elsewhere, people respected him but did not accept his authoritarian style.

“Is Anna a Gandhi? No. Is he democratic? No,” Mapari said, adding that the Mumbai flop was no surprise. “Maharashtra knows Anna better than any other state.”

Not a single Marathi newspaper had rallied behind Hazare during his Delhi and Mumbai agitations.

Anna and Lokpal

Hazare believes in one-man authority, and the idea of an all-powerful Lokpal fits in well with that, a former associate said. It’s as if the Lokpal is an extension of the crusader himself in the national context.

Hazare has an aversion to a collective or democratic dialogue, said former Janata Dal legislator and onetime Hazare associate Kumar Saptarshi. When his dictatorial ways turn off his supporters, he or they walk out.

“There’s a problem with the term ‘Team Anna’: it’s a misnomer,” Saptarshi said.

MUMBAI LESSONS

One-point agitations that avoid the problem’s complexities are unlikely to succeed

Momentary support can be created but not sustained by wide media coverage alone

Timing holds the key. Public anger at the Commonwealth Games and 2G scams had boosted Anna’s April and August agitations in Delhi. By December, these issues had become somewhat distant

Targeting just one party, when corruption is so widespread, can raise questions about real motive. Silence on BJP made minority communities apprehensive

The comparisons with the Mahatma could only disappoint after a time as Anna increasingly showed himself as a rather simple-minded village leader without a larger
vision

The success of Anna’s 1970s-80s Ralegan model was based on the authority he enjoyed in his village, which even allowed him to thrash drunkards. That sort of thing was unlikely to work outside

Anna’s dictatorial ways and dislike of collective decision-making has repeatedly led to a falling out with comrades. Rifts developed within the current campaign, too. Critics feel ‘Team Anna’ is a misnomer

Mumbai was a bad choice because Maharashtra, Anna’s home state, is familiar with his shortcomings