Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in South Africa for the fifth IBSA summit, sent a strong message to the Opposition and Team Anna from foreign soil on Tuesday that the “result of one byelection cannot be seen as a reflection on the government’s performance”.
Undaunted by his party’s rout in what had turned into a prestigious electoral battle at Hisar, a combative Dr Singh was in no mood to concede that the defeat be read as a referendum on his government. Dr Singh is expected to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the results after he returns to India on Wednesday. A meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee is also likely soon.
The Hisar Lok Sabha byelection, in which Congress candidate Jai Prakash lost his security deposit, turned crucial for the Congress after Team Anna declared that the results would be a “referendum” on the Congress-led UPA government. The Congress dispatched Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit to campaign extensively, while Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda virtually camped in the constituency for almost 10 days.
Charged by the result, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has now threatened to campaign personally against the Congress in the coming Assembly polls in five states.