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In India’s West Bengal state, the beloved fish has leapt from the kitchen table to the campaign trail, becoming an unexpected flashpoint in a fiercely contested election.
For Bengalis, fish is not merely food. It is intrinsic to the Bengali identity and pride. Its aroma drifts from roadside fryers, and it is a must at wedding feasts and festival spreads.
Now, as the state of over 100 million people gears up for polls on April 23 and 29, the slippery staple has also become political ammunition.
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In tea shops and markets, where mounds of fish glisten on beds of crushed ice, the chatter has centred around whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party will ban fish if it takes power.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sometimes promoted vegetarianism as part of its Hindu nationalist agenda, and has imposed limited dietary restrictions in other states.
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It is waging an aggressive bid to dislodge West Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand leader of the opposition All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) which has been in power in the state since 2011.
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