BJP's spicy lead in West Bengal: PM Modi's ‘jhal muri’ outreach beats Mamata's 'bhelpuri' warning

Jhargram, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi savoured Bengal's iconic snack 'jhal muri', is likely to witness a change of guard. This prompted several on social media to ask, "[Is this the] Impact of PM Modi eating Jhal muri?"

All eyes were on West Bengal on Monday, where cultural dynamics played a key role in the high-stakes electoral battle. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been a vocal proponent of preserving the regional identity, language, and "culture" of Bengal. However, early trends show the tables turning.

As the counting of votes for the West Bengal Election was underway on Monday (4 May), the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate took a comfortable lead over the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA in the Jhargram Assembly constituency.

As of 11:50 AM, BJP's Lakshmi Kanta Sau was leading TMC's Mongal Saren by 11,418 votes after eight of a total of 21 rounds of vote counting.

Overall, the BJP was leading on 177 seats, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 148 seats in the 294-member assembly. Mamata Banerjee's TMC, meanwhile, was leading on 92 seats.

PM Modi's viral jhal muri moment

Jhargram is the constituency where PM Modi's jhal muri moment had gone viral. "In between four rallies across West Bengal on a packed Sunday, had some delicious Jhalmuri in Jhargram," PM Modi posted on X two weeks ago, just ahead of the Phase 1 elections of West Bengal.

The BJP's social media handles also shared a video of PM Modi visiting a small shop after a rally in Jhargram. The party captioned the video as: "𝐏𝐌 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐲, 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥’𝐬 𝐎𝐆 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐢, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦." It added that "the spontaneous moment left everyone speechless; interacting with women and kids, while also making a witty remark".

Earlier, PM Modi had launched a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress ahead of the second phase of elections in West Bengal, saying that his jhal muri had given a "thunderous shock" to the ruling party.

On 23 April, while addressing a poll rally in Krishnanagar, PM Modi said, “You must wave the flag of the BJP-NDA's victory with full strength. On 4 May, the celebration of the BJP's victory will also take place in Bengal, sweets will also be distributed, and jhal muri will also be handed out. Jhal muri has also given a thunderous shock to some people. I ate the jhal muri, but the jhal (spice) hit TMC.”

Mamata's 'bhelpuri' salvo

Mamata Banerjee was quick to take potshots at PM Modi over the viral moment. She alleged that the BJP had staged the PM's stopover to eat "jhal muri" in Jhargram during an election rally.

Targeting the BJP, she said, "They said they will eat jhal muri if they win, but I say I will give you bhelpuri from Delhi. First, they showed a 'chai-wala', and now they are showing jhal muri to win the election.

"We are habitual of spicy jhal muri, but have you ever tried fish and chicken curry? I eat your dhokla, I eat dosa, I eat litti, I eat thekua, I eat sattu. I eat vermicelli during Eid, and I eat halwa. Don't teach me religion," the CM was quoted by PTI as saying.

Did Bengal break away from 'old election culture'

West Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya said in Kolkata that Bengal must break free from its old election culture and called for a new political direction. He compared electoral patterns with states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and highlighted a shift in Indian politics towards democracy and development under the current leadership.

He said, “No Bengali has seen such elections since independence. So, today we've reached the final moment. Bengal has to break free from this electoral culture. If people in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have broken free from the previous election pattern, why can't we?...”

He added, "The whole of India is becoming 'Modimay'. The Prime Minister has changed the definition of Indian politics. Today's religion is democracy, and today's politics is development. We are moving forward with this mantra..."