PUNE, February 2: Former bureaucrat-turned-social activist Avinash Dharmadhikari today expressed the confidence that former BJP MP Anna Joshi and his like-minded party colleagues would be with him in the fight against money and muscle power during the Lok Sabha election."They (Joshi and other BJP workers) have certain compulsions as members of a political party. But mentally they are with us," Dharmadhikari said while addressing a well-attended rally in support of his independent candidature, held at the Apte Prashala here on Sunday morning.He further sought to assure the gathering that even BJP prime ministerial candidate Atal Behari Vajpayee could never associate himself politically with the likes of Suresh Kalmadi. Recalling the former prime minister's expression of contempt for present day politics during his speech delivered in Parliament at the end of his 13-day term, Dharmadhikari said his effort was to change the same.The pronouncements from Dharmadhikari, who was considered close to the RSSand had made his availability known to the BJP national leadership during the last Lok Sabha election, comes in the wake of Joshi withdrawing his resignation from membership of the BJP and abandoning his plan to enter the Lok Sabha fray. Interestingly, a majority of the crowd gathered to support Dharmadhikari were from the educated middle-class. Dharmadhikari made no bones about his political agenda while explaining to his supporters the election strategies aimed at containing the blatant use of money and muscle power on a large scale during the election in Pune."Aaplyala Paisyachi Masti Utravaychi Aahe" (We have to end the arrogance of money), he said adding that the tendency to treat the electorate as a commodity that could be purchased needs to be exposed and countered.He underlined the need to create what he called "terror of the righteous," for which he said all the right-thinking citizens of Pune would be mobilised during the next few days to actively participate in his election campaign.Many among the gathering expressed their support to his independent candidature and also volunteered to donate funds and actively participate in his election campaign.Dharmadhikari said he would be filing his nomination papers tomorrow and later declare his wealth and income sources on February 3. The "people's manifesto" would be declared on February 4 and the final touches to his proposed campaign trail would be given at a supporters' rally to be held at Ganesh Mangal Karyalaya in Bhau Maharaj Bol at 5 pm on February 8.
