While the Congress government of Delhi has managed to get approval from the Election Commission to sell onions at Rs 55 a kg, the BJP has already applied for the same, keeping model Code of Conduct in mind. The BJP is likely to start selling onions from Sunday. The usual election issues of developments including Bijli, Paani, Sadak and corruption have taken a back seat.
But will the two parties succeed? With emergence of the Aam Admi Party, led by anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal who is enjoying massive support from common men, the political scenario of the city has changed altogether.
People with no political affiliation are out to support Kejriwal’s unit not only in terms of votes but financially also. They don’t mind to even donate a portion of their household budget to party to fund election campaign in Delhi.
What inspires them to such a step? They believe a victory for the AAP will change the face of national politics for ever. Time will say if they will succeed or not.
However, the biggest losers are the people from the adjoining areas of Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad. With no elections round the corner they are forgotten by the parties, at least for now.
It may be recalled that the Congress had wrested power from the BJP 15 years ago as onions became out of bound of even middle class people on eve of the Assembly elections. Even BJP’s last-ditch effort to control the damage by making Shushma Swaraj chief minister of Delhi at the last moment did not work, and Delhi got a new chief minister inn Sheila Dikshit for last 15 years.
