In a fleeting yet impactful post on X (formerly Twitter), the Kerala unit of the Congress party sparked an unexpected storm. The now-deleted message read:

“Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered a sin anymore.”

This tongue-in-cheek reference to the government's decision to lower the GST on bidis from 28% to 18% quickly drew sharp criticism many perceived it as a dig at Bihar and its people.

The Janata Dal (United), a major political force in Bihar, didn’t stay silent. In a pointed comeback, JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha wrote:

“‘B’ doesn’t just mean bidi it also means buddhi (intellect), which you lack! It also means budget, which makes you resentful whenever Bihar gets special assistance.”

He underlined Bihar’s rich historical legacy from being the land of Lord Buddha’s enlightenment to drafting the first Constitution and warned that Biharis would deliver a “befitting reply” at the ballot box with votes, not smoke.

कांग्रेस की एक और अत्यंत शर्मनाक हरकत!

आपको बता दें कि B से सिर्फ बीड़ी नहीं, बुद्धि भी होती है, जो आपके पास नहीं है!
B से बजट भी होता है, जिसमें बिहार को विशेष सहायता मिलने पर आपको मिर्ची लगती है।#बिहार का मजाक बनाने की नीचता कर कांग्रेस ने न केवल बिहारवासियों का फिर से अपमान… pic.twitter.com/y6Z4Qj3Yua

— Sanjay Kumar Jha (@SanjayJhaBihar) September 5, 2025

At a detailed level, this incident shows how a slight marketing-style joke can also reverse the stressful political atmosphere especially before the elections. While the aim of the Congress may have been to comment on fiscal policy, critics say that this post reached the extent of regional insensitivity.

After all, it will only tell the time to come whether this dispute will have any effect on the voter behaviour of Bihar. But one thing is very clear - in today's politics, some words written on social media can also give rise to big controversy.