Around two in the noon, on Wednesday, teachers and students from Delhi University were marching towards Parliament Street. They were protesting against University Grants Commission’s decision to give autonomous status to their varsity. There were at least a 1,000 protestors on the street.

A few kilometres from there, activist Anna Hazare was observing the 5th day of his hunger strike at the historic Ramleela ground. With barely 700 people, mostly farmers, the tent was mostly deserted. Barely four or five TV news channels were waiting for him to address the presser. However, his doctor Dhananjay Pote informed the media that Hazare’s health was critical and he had been suggested not to speak.

This thin crowd at his indefinite hunger strike should be an alarming moment for Hazare. Unlike 2011, when his one call attracted thousands of protestors from Delhi and other parts of the country as well as a large section of the media fraternity, this protest seems dull.

Poorly planned farmers’ protest, poor coordination with farmers’ organisations, inexperienced core-team appear to be among the major reasons for this low turnout. Moreover, Hazare himself is to be blamed for this poor turnout. He had declared the date of the protest without keeping stakeholders in the loop.

Low turn-out at Anna’s indefinite hunger strike on Wednesday 

Hazare is trying to put pressure on the Central government to bring three systematic changes – a consolidated policy for farmers, the appointment of Lokpal and electoral reforms. While the Central government has assured the 80-year-old activist that it will take all possible steps to fulfil his demands, he is yet to receive a written assurance. Media reports, however, state that 95 per cent of his demands have been accepted. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari are likely to meet Hazare today with a draft of the government’s proposal. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government has played smart and safe so far. Instead of sending a Central government representative, the BJP sent Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan to initiate talks on Monday. It was also a subtle message that the BJP wants to dub Hazare’s protest as a state issue and not a typical ‘Anna national protest’.

Meanwhile, at Hazare’s protest, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasabha (RKM), which comprises of 50-odd farmers’ organisations, has joined the protest. Hazare’s hunger strike is mainly being seen as one for farmers. However, a senior RKM leader told Newslaundry that of 50 farmers’ bodies only three or four have taken part in the protest. Punjab’s Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta-Sidhupur (BKUES) and Madhya Pradesh’s Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (RKMS) are among the most active participants.

“We got in touch with Annaji only on March 21. The timing of the protest is utterly wrong,” Shiv Kumar Sharma, RKM convenor and chief of RKMS told Newslaundry. “It is harvesting time for the farmers from the bordering states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Haryana. You can’t ask farmers to leave their crops in the field and join any protest.” Sharma mentioned that these issues were raised with Hazare too.

PN Kalki from Hazare’s core team said that they do realise that the timing of the protest is oddly placed. “He had decided the date in October last year itself. The only option left was to coordinate with farmers’ organisations and ensure a good turnout.” The 24-member core team of Hazare’s new NGO – Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan Nyas (BVJAN) – was formed only in January 2018. That too, with lesser-known faces. Clearly, this inexperienced team failed to rope in farmers’ bodies.

RKM’s Sharma also pointed out Hazare’s charter of demands to be one of the reasons behind the poor turnout. Sharma said these demands were not in coherence with demands of farmers bodies. “In ke demands bhi atram shatram hain. Kisan sanghtano se baat karke agar mudde decide kiye gaye hote to ye demands alag tarah ke hote (Their demands are not in coherence with what a farmers’ organisation usually demand. Have they had consulted farmers’ organisations the list of demands would have been different).” Sharma added that NGO-type people had convinced Anna to come to Delhi and see what the results would be.

Hazare has put out a four-point demand for farmers, including making the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices into a constitutional body that is independent of government influences. He wants pensions worth Rs 5,000 for farmers who are 60-year-old or above and who are solely dependent on agriculture. The third demand is to calculate the minimum support price on C3+50 per cent formula, that is, the investment, labour cost and interest on the capital invested, in addition to 50 per cent of this sum. Fourth demand is to provide individual insurance for each farmer’s crops.

When Kalki was asked about the process of how demands were decided, he said, “Anna has his own style of working and thought process.” Speaking about how the protest came to be, he said: “On October 2 (2017) Anna came to Rajghat and decided to launch a big mobilisation. A workshop was organised on October 6-7 in Ralegan Siddhi in which over 70 people participated. During the discussion, these three issues were decided,” Kalki said. 

Another core team member, on condition of anonymity, told Newslaundry, “Bhawano mein aa kar unhone decision le liya ki Bhagat Singh ki Shaheedi Diwas par ansaan par baithenge.Mujhe lagta hai unko laga ki ye unke jeevan ke antim andolano mein se ek honga – health issues ye kuch unfortunate ho use accha hai ki ya to vyavastha parivartan kar dein ya andolan mein hi Shaheed ho jaen (The decision to go on hunger strike on Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day was driven by emotions. I believe he must have thought that either he will bring major systemic changes or shall sacrifice his life in protests like these).” Anna was informed that the date would coincide with the harvest season. Additionally, he was requested to either defer the protest or schedule it for February.

RKM had also given a call to gherao Delhi on February 23 – where thousands of farmers would have entered the national capital from eight different points. But they were detained in their respective states.

Hundreds of farmers of BKUES were allegedly detained at Cheema Mandi in Sangrur on February 22. Since then, they have stationed themselves at the Mandi. Jagjit Singh, 59, started his hunger strike on March 20, as he left Cheema to join Hazare at Ramleela ground. Speaking about his eighth day of hunger strike, Singh told this correspondent, “It is better to sacrifice my life here demanding a concrete policy for farmers. In Punjab and rest of the country, debt trap is forcing farmers to commit suicide. If I can save even two farmers from committing suicide by dying at Ramleela, I will still be successful in saving one farmer’s life.” Unperturbed by the government’s cold response and fewer numbers in the tent Singh said, “It’s a fight to save the farmers of this country.”

Punjab’s Jagjit Singh, head of BKUES, started his indefinite hunger strike on March 20

Hazare is also pressuring for electoral reforms including replacing the political party symbols with the contesting candidates’ photo in the EVM. The idea is that it would reduce the importance of the political parties in the electoral democracy. He is also pressing for declaring NOTA as a vote for the right to reject. He has re-emphasised on Right to recall power – which was being discussed during the Indian Against Corruption movement.

Hazare’s health condition is getting worse with every passing day. If the planning and coordination within the group remain like this, it will be easier for the Central government to continue with its cold response. However, organisers said that the movement is expected to gain momentum from Thursday when farmers from MP and Punjab are likely to join in large numbers.

However, the act of underestimating the importance of organisation and coordination with farmers’ bodies seems like a self-goal by Hazare. Hazare’s continued attack on political forums and clear stand that he will not allow politically-affiliated wings to join his protest are proving detrimental.

Ever since the Narendra Modi government came to power, all successful movements of farmers and peasants were led by a united front of politically affiliated and non-political wings. Right from the agitation against the Land Acquisition Bill to the protests led by All India People’s Forum — each had a united front fighting against the Central government’s policies. Even Yogendra Yadav’s farmers’ coordination committee was successful in bringing thousands of farmers to Delhi streets. The recent successful farmers’ protest in Maharashtra too was led by farmers’ wing of Communist parties. Saying no to these organisations, especially the left-leaning bodies, means lesser mobilisation on the ground.

The rise of Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party’s formation from the movement-led by Hazare has left him scared. “He wants to remove that guilt, that tag of Kejriwal from his sleeves. That is the reason Anna is against any political body joining this hunger strike,” said a core-team member. However, he did agree that they are paying the cost for taking this stand. 

Even if the farmers’ bodies eventually become successful in drawing large numbers at Ramleela, there is no denying that Anna scored a self-goal this time.