New Delhi: In a battle of jhal-muri versus chop-muri in West Bengal, the former won handsomely, courtesy a push by Narendra Modi and BJP celebrated the victory on Monday with a machh-bhaat (fish and rice) meal at the party headquarters in Kolkata.
For years, chop-muri (fritters and puffed rice) dominated the political discourse in the eastern state because of Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee preference for the popular snack.
Assembly Election Results 2026 Highlights | BJP's Bengal dream comes true, TVK springs a surprise in TNSo much so that she once described making fritters as an "industry" that the youngsters can explore as a livelihood option and attracted snide remarks from many.
But jhal-muri became a part of Bengal's political narrative from the afternoon of April 19 when Prime Minister Modi walked into a shop at Jhargram after a rally, purchased a pack of the popular snacks, ate it and shared with others around.
A video of him insisting on paying Rs 10 - despite the vendor's initial hesitation - went viral, garnering hundreds of millions of views across social media platforms. When the vendor asked if he eats onions, Modi replied, "Haan, khaate hain… dimaag nahi khaata, bas" (Yes, I eat them... I just don't eat brains), which resonated as a rare candid moment.
The saffron party, subsequently, gave further push to jhal-muri in its campaign adding spices to a closely-fought assembly polls where Bengal's culinary identity was a hot topic with Mamata claiming that if BJP comes to power, it will impose a ban on eating fish and meat.
BJP countered strongly with top leaders claiming that a fish-eating, Bengali-speaking local will be the next Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Saffron candidates campaigned and central leaders like Anurag Thakur ate fish in front of the camera to show that the heartland party doesn't have a problem with Bengali dietary practices.
West Bengal assembly elections 2026 | BJP breaches Mamata's citadel: Full list of winnersThe issue of Bengal's culinary identity, however, didn't find much traction to the western and northern parts of the state, which voted en-masse in favour of BJP. The humble jhal-muri brought the party home to a state that was home to its founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
At the BJP state headquarters in Salt Lake, Kolkata, the victory was celebrated with a meal of doi-Katla (a delicacy made with Catla and curd), rice, lentil and vegetable. At the national headquarters in Delhi, the party distributed Mishti Doi and what else - Jhal Muri.