PM’s jhalmuri break in the middle of high-octane Bengal campaign
West Bengal, Apr 19 : Between back-to-back election rallies in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paused to savour a cone of jhalmuri at a roadside stall in Jhargram, turning a brief halt into a moment that quickly travelled beyond the campaign trail.
The stop came after a public meeting in Jhargram, a tribal-dominated district that is central to the BJP’s outreach in the Junglemahal region. On his way to the helipad, the Prime Minister halted at College Mor, where a modest roadside stall became the setting for an impromptu political theatre of sorts.
Surrounded by a swelling crowd of supporters — women, children, and party workers — the Prime Minister was seen relishing jhalmuri, occasionally offering portions to children standing nearby.
Slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”, “Narendra Modi zindabad”, and “Bharat Mata ki jai” rang out as PM Modi, dressed in a white kurta, blue Nehru jacket, and a red BJP-embroidered muffler, engaged briefly with locals.
The moment, captured on camera, quickly circulated online, reinforcing a familiar image — a leader who frequently folds local flavours into his campaign narrative.
Sharing a glimpse on X, PM Modi wrote, “In between four rallies across West Bengal on a packed Sunday, had some delicious jhalmuri in Jhargram,” accompanying it with photographs of himself sampling the quintessential Bengali snack.
This is not the first time PM Modi has turned to street-side cuisine as a political punctuation mark. From sipping tea at roadside stalls during earlier election campaigns, evoking his oft-cited ‘chaiwala’ origins — to sampling regional delicacies in states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, such pauses have long been woven into his public persona.
Earlier in the day, addressing a rally in Purulia, another tribal-heavy district, PM Modi sharpened the BJP’s pitch, casting the upcoming contest as a choice between “development and appeasement” — a direct swipe at the ruling Mamata Banerjee.
The optics of the Jhargram halt came at a politically charged moment. West Bengal heads into Assembly elections in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with the BJP locked in a fierce, bipolar contest against the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
-PTI
