India not yet ready for anti-graft political outfit: Hegde

BANGALORE: Former Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde says a political party floated purely on the anti-corruption plank will not succeed in elections at this stage as money power and diversity play a role.

Hegde, a former Karnataka Lokayukta, who has distanced himself from erstwhile Team Anna's decision to start a political party on October 2, said cultural, linguistic and religious diversity play a part in elections.

"It's not as if everybody looks at (elections) only from democratic point of view", he told PTI here. "People (sections of them) have got used to money being spent on them (in elections). It will take quite some time before we can change electoral attitude of the voters".

While anti-corruption plank is a good ground to fight elections, he is not sure whether one can taste electoral success only on that issue in the next 10-12 years.

Hegde, a key member of the Team which was disbanded by its leader and social activist Anna Hazare recently, maintained that he is opposed to the idea of floating an all India party which is not "a child's play".

"To find 543-plus candidates for Lok Sabha elections is going to be a tremendous effort..", he said. While getting candidates in all constituencies would not be a problem as some people would definitely apply because of Anna Hazare's reputation, "what sort of people will apply is the question".

And how will they canvass without necessary infrastructure? Hegde asked.