Rotten deal: Jolly pelts Cong with tomatoes

NEW DELHI: It was the steep rise in the price of onions which helped usher in the Congress to power in Delhi, leaving many BJP leaders in tears at the pungent turn of events. The question now is will the almost-out-of-reach tomato bring about another change in the seat of power in the forthcoming Assembly elections?
On Tuesday, BJP's Vijay Jolly embarked on a road show in New Delhi constituency where tomatoes did all the talking.Jolly, who will take on chief minister Sheila Dikshit from the New Delhi constituency, questioned the galloping tomato prices in Delhi. However, he did not restrict himself to tomatoes alone, expressing his eagerness to take on larger issues, and challenging the chief minister in her own den.
"Skyrocketing inflation has already paralysed the common man's aspirations. But if commodities as basic as tomatoes cost Rs 48/kg, then what will the common man do? Where does he go?'' he asked. Blaming both the state and the Centre for failing to prevent a price hike, Jolly added,"The public distribution system has collapsed. And nothing can be more unfortunate then the fact that the chief minister has paid no heed to the issue."
Using tomato prices to launch his campaign rhetoric, Jolly nevertheless tried to remain politically correct. Speaking about his opponent Sheila Dikshit, he said,"I will question her, debate her, confront her on every possible issues pertaining to the life of a common man. But I will not allow her go without answering.''
Jolly, a sitting MLA from Saket, is a new face for the residents of New Delhi constituency. Flagging off his campaign with an issue close to the common man was thus a calculated political move. And the plan seemed to have clicked. Said a resident: "I have not seen him before but if he is someone who will address the common man's problems, then certainly we will be happy. At least it's better than having someone who is not accessible to us.''
Meanwhile, warming up to the tomato theme, Jolly picked up a few from a vegetable vendor and threatened to shower rotten tomatoes on Congress politicians if prices did not fall in a week. Giving him able support throughout was cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad who played his innings of criticizing the government well.
Speaking about the condition of basic amenities in Dikshit's own constituency, Azad said,"We call this New Delhi area but what we get is erratic power and water supply, bad roads and petty crimes." Taking a dig at the chief minister, he added,"Try and get in touch with her and you return empty handed. Her sister is available but people here need to explain their problems to the person whom they have elected and not their family members.''