A birthday wish from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday set off a burst of humour on social media.
“Birthday wishes to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Didi. I pray for her good health and long life,” Modi posted on X at 8.45 am.
Modi and Banerjee are among each other’s fiercest political rivals, locked in years of bitter exchanges.
Screenshots of Modi’s message started doing the rounds, accompanied by jokes questioning its sincerity.
Mamata Banerjee has not responded to the birthday wish from Modi, yet.
“Modi ji to ED and CBI today: ‘Guys, aaj rest kar lo, aaj Didi ka birthday hai.’,” one user wrote on X, referring to the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation investigations against a few Trinamool leaders and the counter allegation that the central agencies deliberately targets its leaders.
“Does he really or was he forced to post this?” another user asked.
“One of the coldest b'day wishes I've ever seen..,” read a third post.
“Fight all year. Wish happy birthday like family.” wrote another.
“Gift me Mamta didi ko delhi chahiye..” Another user wrote.
Both Modi and Mamata have a long and confrontational political history.
In 2019, Banerjee rechristened Modi “expiry babu,” declaring, “I will not call you Pradhan Mantri now as your government’s expiry date is over.”
In 2014, when Modi was the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Banerjee called him a “donkey” and “danga-babu” (Mr Riot), and said she would have “sent Modi to jail by tying a rope around his waist” if she were in power in Delhi.
During the 2021 Bengal campaign, Modi turned a rally into a call-and-response routine, repeatedly invoking “Didi, o Didi”, dropping his voice theatrically as if searching for her in the crowd.
Despite the BJP’s aggressive campaign in the state, Banerjee has so far held firm.
She has led the Trinamool Congress to a hat-trick of electoral wins over the BJP — the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state, and the 2021 Assembly election.
