After the Congress’s loss in the Haryana elections, Haryana Minister and BJP MLA Anil Vij made a statement claiming that Rahul Gandhi’s primary interest seemed to be in Jalebi rather than in the election itself.
According to Vij, Rahul Gandhi’s focus appeared to be solely on Jalebi and not on the electoral process. He suggested humorously that the Congress party should consider changing its symbol from Panja to Jalebi. Vij confidently stated that the BJP had always been aware of the Congress’ true intentions, which is why they had predicted their victory from the beginning.
The BJP’s landslide victory in Haryana, securing 48 seats, marked a historic hat-trick as the party formed the government in the state for the third consecutive term. In contrast, the Congress managed to secure 37 seats, while the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and independent candidates won two and three seats respectively.
The connection between the Haryana elections and Jalebi arose during a campaign speech by Rahul Gandhi in Gohana, Sonipat, where he praised jalebi-maker Matu Ram and claimed to have tasted the best jalebi of his life. This remark was met with mixed reactions, especially on social media, as users seized the opportunity to mock the Congress party with the trending hashtag “Jalebi.”
Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion of establishing a jalebi factory and exporting jalebis internationally for creating job opportunities received criticism from social media users. The BJP leaders capitalized on this narrative, with Nadda emphasizing that the party’s victory signaled a rejection of divisive politics and polarization.
Overall, the BJP’s triumph in the Haryana elections was seen as a victory against the promotion of polarization and vote-bank politics. The message conveyed by the public through this mandate was clear, as stated by various BJP leaders who celebrated the victory with sweets and congratulated the hard-working party workers on their success.