Ironically, it is the corruption issue, currently the theme of Indian politics which has aggravated the party crisis in the three states at a time when L.K. Advani is on his nation-wide anti-corruption Jan Chetna Yatra. What needs to be watched is whether the party President Nitin Gadkari’s will be able to pull the infighting-hit state units out of the crisis. The question assumes importance in view of his credentials of being a solution solver which were dented by the Karnataka events.

Gadkari had succeeded in saving the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa when the land scam involving him first surfaced. He had said that “Yeddyurappa’s actions were “legally correct though morally wrong”. But he could not save him when the Karnataka Lokayukta court ordered Yeddyurappa’s arrest in the land allotment scam. Yeddyurappa had to resign.

Gadkari’s current efforts to resolve the crisis in the faction-ridden Himachal BJP have raised questions about his capability as a peacemaker. The infighting in the state unit took a serious turn when the dissidents including two ministers and four MLAs owing allegiance to former Chief Minister and party’s national Vice-President Shanta Kumar abstained from the last week’s BJP State Executive meeting held at Shimla. They later formed the Himachal Bhrashtachar Mukti Morcha, “a non-political anti-corruption body” but virtually a parallel organisation, “for fighting corruption” saying they were only emulating their senior leader L.K. Advani. Some important state leaders including a former Speaker, some former ministers and MLAs are leading the Morcha.

But the anti-corruption crusaders who hold the Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal responsible for the “rampant corruption in Himachal” did not show magnanimity by not appreciating the reforms undertaken by the government to fight graft. One such measure for which Dhumal deserved applause was the important anti-corruption Himachal Pradesh Special Courts (Attachments and Confiscation of Property) Bill, 2011 passed by the Assembly’s in its August session. The new law enables confiscation of property amassed by public servants including officials and politicians holding public office through corrupt practices and time-bound trial by special courts in all such cases.

What raises questions about Gadkari’s credentials as a pacemaker is his issuing threats of taking action against the dissidents without ground level cross-checking of the dissidents allegations against the government. He warned them that if they persisted in raising issues relating to corruption, disciplinary action would be taken against them. He said that charges against the Dhumal government were completely baseless and there was no evidence whatsoever. “It is not proper to malign the government without evidence and if leaders persist with their improper conduct, the party will be forced to take disciplinary action against them.”

Gadkari’s utterances during his last week’s Punjab visit were also not based on ground realities. He claimed that there was no charge of corruption against any Punjab BJP minister. “Ministers were dropped because of organizational issues and had nothing to do with corruption” even as two of the three ministers were widely reported to have been dropped for their alleged involvement in corruption cases.

It was nothing but day-dreaming when Gadkari claimed at the state executive committee meeting at Ludhiana on November 5 that while the party had won 19 out of the 23 seats it contested in 2007, it would win 23 out of 23 in 2012. Even some BJP leaders admit in private talk that the party would be lucky if it crosses single digit mark.

The crisis in Jammu and Kashmir BJP has further deepened as the seven of its suspended MLAs boycotted the party’s November 2 four Jan Jagran Yatras taken out in Jammu region. The Yatras evoked poor response. The crisis in the party had erupted after seven of its total 11 MLAs revolted in April last and voted, in violation of the party whip, in favour of its archrivals National Conference and the Congress to ensure their victory in the Legislative Council elections. They were later suspended.

It is in the background of these developments in the BJPs north-western region’s states that the country’s three on-going parallel anti-corruption drives –one by Anna Hazare, the other by L.K. Advani and the third by Yoga Guru Ram Dev need to be seen.

In Anna the people see a sincere anti-corruption crusader. What has, however, started clouding his meritorious objective is his involving himself in politics, the suspect political motives of some of his Team members, particularly the Haryana native Arvind Kejrival and the financial irregularities of some Team members. Anna was apparently misled in declaring that the Congress candidate lost his security deposit in the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection because of his team’s campaign against the Congress. The Congress’ humiliating defeat was mainly because of caste polarization and the party infighting. These misconceptions have already caused a split in the Anna Team.

The credibility of Advani’s Jan Chetna Yatra is also being questioned because of the involvement in corruption cases of his own party leaders in the states his Yatra is passing through. These trends may be seen as lessening the gravity of the unprecedented scams that have been taking place under the UPA II rule.

The third anti-corruption crusader Ramdev’s credentials stand dented first because of the setbacks he suffered during and after his Delhi Ramlila Ground performance. Now it is his attempt to reoccupy the anti-corruption space lost to Anna Hazare and Advani which is prompting him to blatantly indulge in partisan politics and hurling abuses against his critics. Ramdev may regain some of his lost credibility if he confines himself to organizing his yoga camps.

Corruption has become the religion of India’s political class and the anti-corruption slogans an effort to preserve the gains. It is difficult to predict what fate the three anti-corruption drives currently on in India would ultimately meet. Will they be able to minimize, if not curb, corruption in the three north-western region states? (IPA Service)