What Prime Minister Nara-simha Rao had hoped to achieve by opening a veritable Pandora's box with the hawala controversy remainsas intriguing as the man himself. But what it has resulted in is that the demons released in the process have cast a long shadow on the ruling Congress party's electoral prospects. "Go to the party's national headquarters on 24, Akbar Road. You just do not see too many visitors, not even ticket-seekers. This has never happened before, not even when Indira Gandhi was out of power," said a central party office bearer, adding, "people, in general, and our own people in particular have started believing that the party as a whole is corrupt."