From fish curry to rasmalai: The flavours of BJP’s election victory celebrations

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Counting trends across West Bengal on Monday triggered celebrations among BJP workers as the party moved ahead in key contests, with supporters marking the occasion through food-based celebrations at counting centres and party offices.As trends (at the time of writing this article) from the Election Commission of India showed the BJP having won/leading on over 200 seats, well past the majority mark in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly, workers and supporters gathered outside counting centres across Kolkata and other parts of the state to celebrate the emerging mandate.

At the BJP office on 6, Murlidhar Sen Lane in Kolkata and at party offices in Salt Lake, cadres were seen serving traditional Bengali meals including fish curry, rice, dal, fish head curry and katla fish curry.

Videos from these locations showed supporters sitting together and sharing food as counting progressed.In Alipore, celebrations included chicken biryani, fish preparations and jalebi, with supporters joining informal gatherings as early leads firmed up. Across Kolkata, workers were also seen distributing sweets such as rosogolla, laddoos and sandesh, while some groups shared mishti doi as part of the celebrations.Jhalmuri was widely distributed in paper cones outside counting centres, with women workers and supporters also participating in street celebrations and singing traditional chants such as “jhal legeche” as trends strengthened. The snack had gained political prominence during the campaign after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unscheduled stop at a roadside stall in Jhargram and ate jhalmuri, a moment later used in campaign messaging.The celebrations were not limited to West Bengal. In Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her Cabinet ministers were seen marking the BJP’s performance with jhalmuri and rosogolla. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari also celebrated at his residence in Delhi by cutting a rosogolla cake with his family as trends indicated a strong lead in West Bengal.BJP leader Virendra Sachdeva also marked the party’s performance in West Bengal and Assam with mishti doi.At the BJP headquarters in New Delhi also, food arrangements continued through the day as counting progressed, with a steady flow of party workers and visitors at the office. The menu featured a wide spread prepared in batches, including aloo poori, poha, sandwiches, jalebi, dal tadka, kadhi pakoda, parwal aloo, rice, papad, along with sweets such as rasgulla and mishti doi. Refreshments including lassi and fresh fruits were also served, with preparations scaled to cater to several hundred people throughout the day.The food-based celebrations in West Bengal were also linked to campaign narratives in which the Trinamool Congress had alleged that a BJP government could restrict dietary habits in the state, a claim the BJP had rejected during campaigning, arguing that food practices would remain unchanged.It’s not the first time, food has been used as a symbol for celebrations.NDA’s ‘litti’ celebrations in BiharWhen NDA crossed the 200-seat mark in the Bihar assembly polls last year, celebrations broke out across Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) offices, according to Election Commission of India data during counting.Buckets of jalebi and litti chokha were distributed among supporters in Patna, while drums echoed outside JD(U) offices where large posters of Nitish Kumar were displayed. Groups of supporters also marched with JD(U)’s arrow symbol, chanting slogans as trends strengthened in favour of the NDA.At the BJP headquarters in Delhi, preparations were made for a Bihar-style celebration menu, including sattu paratha, baingan chokha, jalebi and litti chokha for party workers as counting progressed.In Mokama, similar food preparations including rasgulla and litti chokha were reported at the residence of RJD leader Veena Devi during counting in her constituency.Jalebi gesture during Haryana Assembly electionsIn 2024, after the BJP’s strong performance in the Haryana Assembly elections, party workers marked the result by sending jalebis to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s office in Delhi as a symbolic gesture of electoral defeat.The act was part of post-result celebrations by BJP workers and supporters, where sweets were used to mark the party’s electoral success and the Congress party’s loss in the state.Rasmalai jibe during Maharashtra civic electionsDuring the Maharashtra civic elections, BJP MPs PC Mohan and Tejasvi Surya used references to rasmalai on social media after result trends showed a strong performance for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.The exchange followed earlier remarks by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who had used the term “rasmalai” in a political jibe targeting BJP leader K. Annamalai during campaign interactions in Mumbai.PC Mohan posted an image of rasmalai on X (formerly Twitter) referencing the election results, while Tejasvi Surya described the outcome as a “sweet rasmalai victory,” linking the term to the BJP’s performance in Mumbai civic polls.K Annamalai later responded by defending his campaign remarks and congratulating the Mahayuti alliance, while also criticising attempts to frame political discourse through identity-based narratives.