Kolkata/Jhargram: Calling PM Narendra Modi‘s “jhalmuri break” all part of a “drama”, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday pointed out that the shop already had a camera fitted inside, all too ready for the PM’s arrival. This comes a day after Modi stopped at Vikram Sahoo’s jhalmuri shop in Jhargram.“A microphone fitted, the SPG around him… does he (Modi) ever have a 10-rupee bill in his pocket? So much drama. Even that jhalmuri was prepared earlier. How were cameras already installed in the shop? It’s only drama,” the CM said at a campaign rally in Birbhum’s Murarai. She repeated the attack at two more rallies in Khardah and Beleghata later in the day, insisting the snack-stop was carefully choreographed. Banerjee also threw in a challenge, daring the PM to eat fish. “Try eating fish and show us. I eat your dhokla and dosa,” she said.While the political sparring grabbed headlines, the man at the centre of it all — Vikram Kumar Sahoo, originally from Gaya — has suddenly become a local celebrity in Jhargram. Since Modi ate at his stall, relatives have been calling him continuously and curious locals have been flocking to his shop, eager not just for jhalmuri but for the story behind the encounter.Sahoo, a resident of Jhargram’s Stationpara, has been selling muri and snacks for 12 years. He started his business with a pushcart, and later rented a shop at College More. However, his shop was demolished during a road expansion. Later, while CM Mamata Banerjee was returning from a public meeting in Jhargram, shopkeepers like Sahu demanded rehabilitation. Following the CM’s instructions in 2025, Sahoo and 53 other traders received permanent shops by the roadside instead.“Modiji’s security was in the area 15 minutes before he arrived. However, I didn’t realise he would actually come to my shop. I told him I wouldn’t take money from him, but he insisted and paid Rs 10 for the jhalmuri,” said Sahoo.
