‘TMC felt the jhal’: BJP swaps victory sweets for jhalmuri as saffron qave hits 184 seats

Kolkata: Only weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi thrust the traditional Bengali snack ‘jhalmuri’ into the national consciousness, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has adopted the spicy treat as a symbol of its projected triumph in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

The humble snack became an unexpected political lightning rod during the campaign’s final stretch. After a video of the prime minister enjoying the dish at a roadside stop in Jhargram went viral, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed the moment as a calculated theatrical performance. However, Modi later utilised the snack’s name—derived from the Bengali word for "spicy"—to taunt his rivals, remarking during a rally, “I ate jhalmuri, but TMC felt the jhal (spice).”

As of 05: 30 p.m. Monday, data from the Election Commission of India indicated that the BJP’s metaphorical "spice" had translated into a significant electoral surge. The party maintained leads in 184 constituencies, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led in 85. At that hour, the BJP had officially secured three seats to the TMC's one.

National Celebrations

Across the country, BJP officials and supporters pivoted from traditional victory sweets to jhalmuri to mock the incumbent administration’s projected defeat. Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi distributed images of himself consuming the snack, suggesting that "jalebi won’t do" for a victory of this magnitude.

“Today is the day for Jhalmuri, I’m eating it with gusto, so if anyone feels the ‘jhal’ (spice), please don’t take it amiss,” Manjhi said. He credited the performance to the guidance of the prime minister and the strategic efforts of Home Minister Amit Shah.

In Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde characterised the day as a "historic" moment for the party in the birthplace of BJP ideological founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Shinde noted the timing was particularly significant as it coincides with the centenary year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“Under the leadership of the nation’s popular and illustrious Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the BJP has served Mamata Didi a taste of defeat -- a bitter ‘Jhalmuri’ of failure,” Shinde said. He argued that the electorate had rejected "hooliganism and corruption" in favour of "development, progress, stability, and peace."

Shinde further lauded Amit Shah as the "Chanakya" of the BJP, claiming his decade of labour had successfully dismantled the TMC stronghold. He added that the public had used the ballot box to deliver a "resounding retort" to the low-standard criticism levelled at the BJP leadership during the campaign.

Saffron Surge

The celebratory atmosphere extended to the national capital, where Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her cabinet colleagues shared jhalmuri and rasgulla at the Delhi Secretariat.

In a statement published on X, Gupta noted that under the prime minister’s leadership, "every state in the country is turning saffron." She highlighted the party's "hat-trick victory" in Assam alongside the projected change of power in West Bengal.

As the counting of votes continued to favour the opposition, BJP activists took to the streets nationwide, waving party banners and distributing jhalmuri to commemorate what appears to be the party's first-ever government in West Bengal. Leaders promised that a "Double Engine" administration would now initiate a "new era of development" and a "Bullet Train" of progress for the state.

With inputs from IANS