Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned a roadside jhalmuri stop into a campaign weapon on Thursday, telling a public meeting in West Bengal’s Krishnanagar that the snack had stung the Trinamool Congress, not him. Speaking amid the first phase of voting, he said, “Jhalmuri maine khayi, lekin jhal TMC ko lagi hai.”
Modi cast the moment as more than a joke. He told supporters to back the BJP-led NDA with full strength and said that on May 4 the party’s victory celebration in Bengal would include sweets and jhalmuri. “Jhalmuri has also given a thunderous shock to some people. I ate the jhal muri, but the jhal (spice) hit TMC,” he said.
He also widened the pitch beyond the snack. Modi accused TMC of sheltering “infiltrators” and promoting “maha jungle raj,” then promised the Matua and Namashudra communities citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act if the BJP returns to power. “I have come to give a guarantee that the Matua community, the Namashudra community, and refugee families do not need to fear the TMC. No one will be able to harm you,” he said. “Once the government is formed, the process of granting citizenship under the CAA will be accelerated.”
The speech followed a stop that had already become one of the most talked-about moments of the campaign. On Sunday, Modi paused for a quick Jhalmuri break during his election trail in West Bengal, asked a street food vendor, “Bhai, hame apna Jhalmuri khilao,” and later posted the clip on his official X handle with the caption, “Jhalmuri Break in Jhargram!” The reel drew 100 million views on Instagram, with a similar figure reported on Facebook, giving the stop a reach that few campaign moments manage. It has had the feel of one of those viral markers that pop up across the internet, the kind of attention that can sit beside coverage of anything from a game update like Crimson Desert Update Delayed as Pearl Abyss Seeks More Testing to a profile such as Salma Hayek says age helped her avoid typecasting in Hollywood, or even a sports run like Cal Raleigh’s early slump is testing huge expectations in 2026.
The jhalmuri episode also became a political argument in itself. On April 20, Mamata Banerjee called the unscheduled stall stop “scripted” at a rally in the Murarai assembly constituency, asking how cameras were present when Modi made the “unscheduled” stop. That exchange kept the snack stop in play long after the video first spread, and it gave Thursday’s remarks a sharper edge. What began as a roadside break has now been folded into the larger West Bengal fight: Modi using the snack to mock his opponents, Banerjee questioning the staging, and both sides treating a plate of jhalmuri like campaign evidence.
For BJP leaders, the political value is obvious. The stunt travels well, the quote is easy to repeat, and the first phase of voting gives every line added weight. For TMC, the problem is that Modi has now tied the joke to a broader attack on the party, one that blends identity politics, citizenship promises and a charge of disorder in Bengal. The next step is not whether the clip keeps circulating. It already has. The question is whether the jhalmuri line helps carry Modi’s larger pitch to voters before May 4, when he says the sweets and the snack will mark a BJP win.
