It is now a battle of abbreviations in West Bengal, which is in the throes of Assembly elections. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interpreted TMC, the abbreviation for the state's ruling party, Trinamool Congress, as "terror, maut (death) and corruption".
By that evening, TMC chief and state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was ready with her repartee. The Bharatiya Janata Party's abbreviation, BJP, she said, could be expanded as Bhayanak Jaali Party.
"I can say the BJP is a fraud party, but I won't," she said. "I want him (Modi) to say unpleasant things about us. But why is he disrespecting maa, mati, manush?" Maa, mati, manush (mother, earth, people) was the campaign slogan of the TMC in the run-up to the 2011 Assembly elections in West Bengal.
