Pakistan elects Gulab Jamun as national dessert; poll rigged, cries section of netizens

Islamabad, Jan 9: It was a different kind of election in Pakistan this time and controversy did not spare even this one. The Government of Pakistan asked its citizens to choose the national dessert among three sweets: Gulab Jamun, Jalebi and Barfi in a poll on Twitter and the most number of votes were cast in favour of the first. Gulan Jamun got 47 per cent of the votes while Jalebi got 34 per cent and Barfi 19 per cent.

The polling that took place on January 1 saw participation of 15,000 people and Gulab Jamun was officially declared as the 'Qaumi Mithai' or 'National Dessert' of Pakistan.

However, as it is the case with many political elections, many netizens alleged that it was a "one-sided" poll and was "unfair" and "rigged". They were particularly angry saying the poll was posted on the government's official Twitter handle which has less than five lakh followers.

Many users also argued that Gulab Jamun has a "foreign identity" for it was introduced in the subcontinent by Turkic invaders from Central Asia, others said it was discovered by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's chefs.

There were also users who were displeased with the nature of such polls, saying the government could conduct polls that were more relevant like the number of people without jobs; number of people having food; number of school dropouts, etc.