Bengal Politics Turns Salty As Fish Takes Centrestage In Trinamool-BJP Fight

In West Bengal's swirling political waters, the fish is finding itself in the spotlight.

Ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, BJP's Bidhannagar candidate, Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee, drew attention when he was seen campaigning in his constituency holding a 5-kg katla fish. The idea was to convince voters that the BJP is not opposed to people consuming fish - a symbol of Bengali identity - or non-vegetarian food, to counter the Trinamool Congress' narrative that the saffron party would impose dietary restrictions if it came to power.

Addressing a rally in Birbhum on Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sharpened her attack. "They (BJP) won't let you eat fish. You can't have meat, you can't have eggs, you can't speak in Bengali. If you do, you will be tagged as a Bangladeshi," she claimed.

But in the fish markets of Kolkata, voters don't want fish to be politicised.

Bargaining with a fish seller, a local resident, Manab Mukherjee told NDTV he consumes fish every day. "I love eating prawns. I buy fish every day and we cook it daily. I don't even have a fixed budget. If I find good fish, I am ready to pay a higher price. Political parties can keep fighting over it. But fish cannot be taken away from our plates," he said.

Ratna Das, picking up prawns to cook with jackfruit for lunch, expressed concern about the LPG crisis sparked by the war in Iran. "I hope there is no gas shortage and the prices of vegetables don't rise. These are key worries," she said.

On the sizzling issue of fish, her stand was simple, and very clear: "If a party says we can't have fish, they will not get my vote."

According to data from the World Bank, West Bengal consumes 8.36 lakh tonnes of fish annually - twice the national average - and, along with meat, the staple accounts for 18.9% of the total food expenditure in the state. So central is fish to Bengali culture, in fact, that it is sent to the groom's house during weddings to symbolise prosperity and good luck.

BJP's Denial

BJP Bengal President and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said there is no possibility of the sale or consumption of fish being banned.

"Swami Vivekananda said that Maa Kali will eat mutton. All Bengalis and Biharis will eat mutton. If anyone comes to stop me, I will crush them," he asserted.