NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday responded to the opposition’s criticism over his unscheduled stop to buy “jhalmuri” during poll campaigning in West Bengal.While addressing a rally in Krishnanagar, the Prime Minister said Bengal will celebrate the BJP’s victory with sweets and jhalmuri.“You must wave the flag of the BJP-NDA’s victory with all your might. On May 4, Bengal too will celebrate the BJP’s victory, with sweets distributed and jhalmuri handed out as well,” PM Modi said.“Jhalmuri has given a thunderous jolt to some people too. I ate the jhalmuri… but it seems the TMC is feeling the heat of the chillies,” he added.This comes after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed PM Modi’s extended stay as “drama” and claimed that the “entire episode was scripted.”“It’s all drama. How come a camera was present when the prime minister suddenly made an unscheduled stop during the campaign? The entire episode was scripted. He was seen carrying a Rs 10 note in his pocket. Is it believable?” Banerjee said.After wrapping up his address in Jhargram, PM Modi walked over to a jhalmuri stall and asked the vendor to serve him some of the snack. As it was being prepared, he struck up a brief conversation with the shopkeeper.The TMC also said that PM Modi’s decision to extend his stay caused Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to return to Ranchi without completing his scheduled campaign for Mamata Banerjee.In a social media post on X, the TMC termed the Prime Minister’s candid break a “photo op” and accused him of humiliating an Adivasi leader.“Narendra Modi’s Adivasi-birodhi mindset has been exposed for all to see. Because the ‘Pradhan Sevak’ decided to extend his stay in Jhargram to eat jhalmuri, Jharkhand Chief Minister Shri Hemant Soren and his wife and MLA Smt. Kalpana Soren were denied permission to fly their chopper into Jhargram while Modi was present,” the party said.“Two democratically elected leaders—grounded, kept waiting for hours, and ultimately forced to return to Ranchi without completing their scheduled programme—all because a Prime Minister’s extended snack break and photo op took precedence over their democratic rights and constitutional standing. This is the respect Modi has for Adivasi leaders. This is the regard he has for elected representatives who do not bend the knee before him. He came to Jhargram to court the Adivasi vote. He left having humiliated the very people he claimed to stand with. Bengal saw it. And Bengal will remember it on May 4,” it added.Voting is under way for the first phase of the Assembly polls, with the state witnessing a high-voltage contest between the incumbent Trinamool Congress, which is seeking a fourth consecutive term, and the BJP, which is aiming to form the government after a strong showing in the previous elections.There are a total of 1,478 candidates in the fray in this phase.Mamata Banerjee is aiming for a fourth consecutive term, while the BJP, which secured 77 seats in the previous election, is making a renewed push to form the government in the state.
