‘Ande Ka Funda,’ a popular jingle from the 1980s seems to be back in spotlight as eggs have become the unlikely weapon of dissent in West Bengal, which witnessed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registering a historic win in 2026 Assembly elections and bringing curtains down to Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government’s 15-year rule.
Ever since Suvendu Adhikari-led government came into power, there have been multiple instances of angry citizens pelting eggs on Trinamool Congress leaders, including big names like Abhishek Banerjee and Sougata Roy. These symbolic and visually dramatic attacks in recent weeks reflect deep public frustration after the party’s electoral setback as well as alleged corruption scandals.
TMC leaders attacked in West Bengal
Once associated with nutrition and affordability, eggs have certainly became a major talking point in Bengal’s heavily charged political landscape, with multiple incidents of people hurling the kitchen staple at leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), turning into a potent expression of political dissent.
One of the most high-profile incident involved TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Angry locals were seen pelting eggs at him during his visit to Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas on May 30. He visited the area to meet families allegedly affected by post-poll violence. Later on, he claimed that the attack was politically motivated and squarely blamed the ruling BJP.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee was beaten up by the public in Sonarpur, West Bengal. They threw eggs on him, hekled him with chants of “chor! chor!”
Did he go there to create this drama to play victimhood? pic.twitter.com/GLPmG4pMpc
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) May 30, 2026
The incident drew response from all quarters, with comedian Rohit Mishra joking in an Instagram video, “Before the elections, we were told that we would not get to have non-veg if there is a change in government. People were right. I went to some 12-15 shops today and not a single one of them could provide me with eggs. People are telling me all the eggs went for the Sonarpur protest.”
Prior to this, Sougata Roy was on May 28 welcomed with eggs and slogans of ‘chor chor’ in his own constituency of Dum Dum. This happened as the senior leader was coming out of the Nimta Police Station in North 24 Parganas after submitting a memorandum alleging attacks on TMC workers post the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal.
“Oi buro chor…. Chor chole jachhe”
TMC MP Sougata Roy greeted ‘Chor Chor ‘ slogans by public and they threw eggs at his car pic.twitter.com/HEuMSjiDb2
— Babumoshai (@TeraKabil) May 28, 2026
Similar instances have been reported with several other TMC leaders, including Saokat Molla, Bappaditya Dasgupta, Sukumar Dutta, Swapan Samaddar and several others.
The symbolism of eggs in protest
In India’s political history, black flags, shoes and ink have long been used by people to register dissent. However, eggs certainly carry a unique symbolism, especially since they are inexpensive, widely available, visually dramatic, and mostly importantly non-lethal.
Also, the act of protest with eggs has emerged as a powerful tool of political messaging, especially when optics increasingly dominates public discourse. Their fragility mirrors the perceived fragility of political credibility.
The use of eggs, especially rotten ones, for marking a protest has a long history. Multiple reports suggest egg pelting as protest traces its roots in Britain and Europe, where politicians have long faced such attacks.
One of the oldest examples of it goes back to Roman times, when Vespasian was the Roman governor of Africa and the growing public anger erupted during a period of famine and drought when he pushed through some laws. In India, people are believed to have adopted this form of dissent in the 1970s, with Indira Gandhi among the first high-profile targets. The former prime minister was egged at Heathrow and Southall during her UK trip in 1978 – in reaction to the imposition of the Emergency.
In recent years, several political leaders have had eggs hurled at them. In 2015, Youth Congress members had attacked Odisha’s then chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s cavalcade with eggs. Also, former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal faced egg attacks when he was pelted multiple times in late 2014 and early 2015.
Once promoted in India’s mid-day meal schemes as a symbol of nourishment, eggs now double as a symbol of ridicule.
Dr Amitav Sengupta, a political sociologist, recently told The Statesman, “India’s egg politics reveals a profound contradiction. We are a country where millions of children still need eggs for nutrition, yet the same egg is increasingly used to express political outrage. This shift from nourishment to spectacle reflects how public discourse often prioritises symbolic confrontation over developmental concerns”.