Overview
- The Trinamool Congress has put fish at the heart of its pitch, with Mamata Banerjee warning that a BJP government would not let people eat fish, meat or eggs and linking food to Bengali identity.
- The BJP denies any plan to curb diets and is countering on the trail, with candidates carrying large katla fish at rallies and even leading a “fish procession” to signal support for local food habits.
- State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said there is “no question of banning fish,” while Union minister Sukanta Majumdar added that the party’s chief ministerial pick will be a non-vegetarian to undercut the ban claim.
- Online jabs have sharpened the fight, as the TMC urged Amit Shah to sample ilish and other local dishes during his planned 15-day campaign, and past remarks in BJP-ruled Bihar on limiting meat sales plus reported attacks on vendors in Kolkata stoke fears of cultural imposition.
- Fish resonates because it is daily food, ritual and income in Bengal, which consumes about 8.36 lakh tonnes a year and spends a large share of household food budgets on fish and meat, with voting set for April 23 and 29 and results due May 4.