Mamata goes full throttle: Questions PM Modi’s jhal muri moment, swears to ‘conquer Delhi’ after Bengal
The Statesman | 24 April 2026
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of staging his much-publicised jhal muri stop in Jhargram, claiming the snack was prepared at home and the shopkeeper was handed just ₹10. She had vowed on Thursday to take the fight to Delhi after the Bengal polls.
The remarks came ahead of the second phase of West Bengal Assembly elections on April 29, with both leaders seeking to hold the upper hand on a moment that has unexpectedly dominated the campaign trail.
Addressing a rally in Bowbazar, Banerjee said the entire stop was pre-arranged. “They had fitted TV cameras and CCTV cameras earlier with the security. They had prepared jhal muri from home for security concerns and gave ₹10 to the shopkeeper. In fact, I don’t carry any notes,” she said.
She also drew a comparison with the Prime Minister’s earlier political branding. “First, they showed a ‘chai-wala’, and now they are showing jhal muri to win the election. They said they will eat jhal muri if they win, but I say I will give you bhelpuri from Delhi,” Banerjee said.
“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,” she said.
She also questioned the BJP’s confidence ahead of the May 4 counting date. “Have they fixed the Electronic Voting Machines? Otherwise, how can they be so confident about the election?” Banerjee said.
PM Modi had earlier sought to turn the Jhargram stop into a political asset. Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar, he said the snack had given TMC a “thunderous shock.” “I ate the jhal muri, but the jhal hit TMC,” he said, promising BJP’s victory in Bengal on May 4. He also accused the TMC of sheltering “infiltrators” and promoting “maha jungle raj,” and pledged to accelerate citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act for the Matua and Namashudra communities.
A day earlier, at a rally in Chowringhee, Banerjee had also declared her intent to move against the BJP at the national level. “I will conquer Delhi, rest assured of that, once I have secured victory in Bengal, and I will do so by rallying all the political parties together. I do not covet the seat of power; what I desire is the complete dismantling of the BJP in Delhi,” she said. She also warned that she had “noted down the names” of those she called BJP brokers — “from A to Z, including the location of each of their homes.”
The Chowringhee seat goes to polls in Phase 2 on April 29. Phase 1 on April 23 recorded a voter turnout of 92.88 per cent. Counting is on May 4.