Rahul Gandhi, BJP and the jalebi factor in Haryana elections

New Delhi: The two main issues in the Haryana elections were Jats and jalebi. The Congress bet on both, but trends show that it did not work.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech ahead of the assembly elections included the famous jalebi from Gohana in Haryana. His statement for large-scale manufacturing and export of this succulent sweet dish was also mocked by the BJP.

This morning, after initial trends showed the Congress leading, jalebis were distributed at the Congress office in Delhi and party workers celebrated. However, the BJP made a comeback in the later stages of counting and then went far ahead of the main opposition. Now it was the ruling party’s turn to celebrate. And how are they planning to celebrate? Party sources have said that jalebi has been ordered for a grand celebration at the BJP headquarters. The selection of the sweet is a clear political message from the BJP to the Congress and Mr Gandhi.

Addressing a rally in Gohana, Mr Gandhi showed a box of Mathu Ram Halwai’s jalebi and said it should be sold across the country and also exported. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said this would create more employment opportunities.

“If his (Mathu Ram’s) jalebi is sold in other states and also exported, 20,000-50,000 more people can work in his factory one day,” he said, adding that traders like Mathu Ram have suffered losses due to the Centre’s demonetisation and GST.

The Congress leader’s remarks drew jabs from BJP leaders, who said he did not know how the sweet was made. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “I also like Gohana’s jalebi. Now, Rahul Gandhi is talking about setting up a factory in the US. But someone has to understand how jalebi is made and how it is sold. It would have been better if those who wrote the chit for him had written it properly.” The BJP veteran said Mr Gandhi “does not do his homework properly”.

Interestingly, Gohana jalebi was also included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech months ago ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Attacking the India Vs. faction, the Prime Minister said the opposition faction has a formula that if they come to power, there will be five prime ministers in five years. “Ask them if the prime minister’s post is our Matu Ram’s jalebi?” he asked.

According to a PTI report, the famous Gohana jalebi came into existence in 1958 when the late Matu Ram started selling it. The business is now run by his grandsons Raman Gupta and Neeraj Gupta.

“The jalebi is made of pure desi ghee, is crispy but soft and weighs around 250 grams each. A box of four pieces weighing one kg costs Rs 320. This sweet lasts for more than a week,” Raman Gupta told PTI.

Narrating the journey of Gohana Jalebi, Mr Gupta said, “Gohana has a big grain market. Farmers used to work very hard in the fields, and even in adverse weather conditions. The big jalebi made of pure desi ghee not only gave them the required calories, but also had a shelf life of several days and they could eat it anytime.”

He added, “Initially it was a small shop and in the later years when it became famous, even big politicians passing through Gohana would take out time to taste this sweet.”