Anna called off his tour in poll-bound states

With the Congress gearing up for assembly elections in five states, Kiran Bedi today said that anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare would not campaign in the states going to polls if his health did not permit him to do so."He will not go anywhere till he recovers fully," Ms Bedi said after meeting Anna at Sancheti Hospital in Pune where he was admitted last Saturday.

After Anna ended his fast on the second day of the protest at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai on December 28, he declared that he and his team would campaign against the Congress in the upcoming assembly polls over the government's "failure" to bring an "effective and strong" Lokpal Bill. But the 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader is in hospital for what doctors say is "chest congestion" and has been advised bed rest for a month. Close aides are wary of exposing him to the rigours of a campaign until he recovers completely.

After meeting him, Ms Bedi said that Team Anna's core committee would meet in Delhi on Saturday to discuss the future course of action. Shortly after being admitted to hospital, Anna had sought to reassure his supporters, saying, "In a few days, I will be alright. Don't worry about me." But the question mark that now hangs over his campaign will clearly come as a breather for the Congress as it prepares for polls in the five states, particularly in Uttar Pradesh where Rahul Gandhi has hit the campaign trail aggressively over the past few months.