Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal teams gear up for life after split

NEW DELHI: A day after activists Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal formally split over taking a political plunge, the Kejriwal camp continued to be in shock over the Gandhian's unexpected volte-face minutes after the meeting ended.
A video recording of the concluding part of Wednesday's marathon meeting showed Hazare agreeing to the consensus arrived at by members and read out by political scientist Yogendra Yadav. The resolution said both the agitation and the political party would run parallel and while Hazare would not be part of a political party, the one floated by Kejriwal would have his blessings. Significantly, Hazare is seen nodding in agreement, only adding that if he is asked, he would clarify his non-involvement with the political party.
However, minutes later, Hazare responded to media queries by saying that it was unfortunate that the team had broken. He also tersely dismissed the survey conducted by India Against Corruption saying social media did not reflect people's sentiments and also warned the group against using his name and photograph for campaigning.
Responding to this, Kejriwal said, "Yesterday's developments came as a complete surprise. It was shocking, unbelievable, unfortunate and sad."
Claiming that there was a sense of urgency to change the system, he said the country was on "sale and everything is being sold out. We have challenges as well as opportunities". He, however, added that Hazare's five principles would become the foundation of the party.
While both groups refrained from pointing fingers, battle lines have clearly been drawn and the fight could include the family jewels. One of the issues that could become a bone of contention is the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement. The movement, though floated by the Kejriwal camp, could now be annexed by Hazare's team if Kiran Bedi's tweets are any indication. In a tweet, Bedi said she was looking for a larger office for IAC, clearly staking her claim on the movement, a remark that did not go unnoticed by the Kejriwal camp.
Hazare, on his part, struck a reconciliatory note, saying in a new video message that the movement has separated, with one going the political way but "both these routes are important" and the goal is the same. However the damage has already been done.
The day was also marked by lengthy meetings by each camp to chalk out their strategy. Hazare met his supporters, including Bedi, at Maharashtra Sadan while Kejriwal held discussions with state coordinators of the movement who are supporting the move to form a political party.
Questioning the need for the anti-corruption movement turning political, Bedi said Hazare could unite all movements across the country and put pressure on political parties on the issue of corruption and bringing a strong Lokpal bill. "What is the compulsion to float a party," she asked.
Responding to Hazare's remarks that he did not go by surveys conducted through social networking sites, Kejriwal claimed it was the veteran activist who had asked them to conduct the exercise to get inputs on whether to form a party or not. "Anna had asked us to do the survey. Using SMS and Internet was his idea," he said.
There was disappointment and anger in Kejriwal's team over Hazare's decision to split the group though no one came on record. Kejriwal supporters took potshots at Hazare on social networking sites like Twitter, posts which were re-tweeted by India Against Corruption.