Team Anna has perforce beaten a retreat and old style politics is back amid an electoral campaign slowly picking up momentum. The debate over Lokpal Bill has spilled over from Parliament to rooms where leaders of Congress Party and Bharatiya Janata Party hold briefs for the media. New accusative statements are traded and the anti-graft Bill is shrouded with constitutional technicalities and political one-upmanship. It is Lokwar now and it is no longer about bringing an effective anti-graft legislation – and fast – but is all about being an effective electoral strategy.

But to be fair to ‘old’ politics, it would be immature to expect any other issue be discussed in exclusive terms during election time. By the end of January voters would have decided political futures of candidates in 257 assembly seats in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur. By that time Uttar Pradesh would also just be days away from the first of the seven-phased state election that will decide the political future of two of India’s most significant regional chieftains besides the two largest ‘national’ parties – Congress and BJP.

Of the three states that go to the polls in January, the outcome in Manipur would find little space in the media and also have marginal impact in national politics primarily because the state accounts for just 2 seats in the Lok Sabha. Uttarakhand sends five members to the Lok Sabha but has far greater political significance primarily because of proximity to the national capital. Moreover, the state is still part of the ‘heartland’ despite being hived off from Uttar Pradesh more than a decade ago.

For all purposes, Punjab and Uttarakhand is witnessing two-horse races between the Congress and the BJP with its ally – Akali Dal – in Punjab. This explains why the two are trying to upstage the other in Lokwar. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was spontaneously shown black flags on New Year’s Day when he visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

This indicated that significant sections hold the Congress responsible for not passing the Lokpal Bill. If this sentiment gets converted into electoral choice, it would stem the tide for the Akali Dal-BJP alliance – perceived to be battling anti-incumbency. In contrast, Uttarakhand does not have such significant urban centres and the BJP has begun the campaign on a back foot because of perception that the administration had become corrupt under the previous chief minister – Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Voters will decide if Gen Khanduri’s measures reversed BJP’s slide.

After Round II of their campaign, Team Anna plunged into the electoral arena in the parliamentary by-poll in Hisar. They tried to extract credit for the verdict that would not have been altered even if they had not campaigned. While beating a retreat from the lukewarm response to Round III of his campaign, Anna Hazare pledged to campaign against the Congress.

But during election time, non-party players do not have much role unless they seek votes in favour of a particular party. Despite their obvious orientation, Team Anna is unlikely to do that. In such a situation if medical advice to stay away prevails, it would do no one any harm. Except of course the news channels who miss out on a story opportunity.