West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | 'Fishing' for votes: BJP fights to hook Bengalis, gut TMC's vegetarian outsider narrative

New Delhi: Bengal’s well-entrenched cultural identity of Mache Bhate Bangali (rice and fish makes a Bengali) has turned into a political hot potato in poll-bound West Bengal with the Trinamool Congress telling people that BJP will put an end to their fish-eating habit even as the saffron party is trying hard to counter the narrative.

But every round of campaigning involving fish and every interview by leaders to claim that they won’t put any restriction on Bengali dietary habits puts BJP on the back foot in a state where the party is largely seen as a vegetarian outsider. The party’s track record in other states is not helping its cause either.

“Its not that Bengalis don’t relish vegetarian food. But they won’t tolerate any dictum to impose restrictions on personal food choices. Why should someone else will decide if I have to eat fish or not! It will be difficult for BJP to close the gap with Bengali population with such dietary reservations,” food columnist Surbek Biswas told DH.

For centuries fish has been synonymous with Bengal. Be it Durga Puja, weddings or even funerals, the finny tribe is an integral part of Bengali rituals, customs, and daily life. In many temples, they are offered as bhog.

In north Bengal Shol machh (big-headed snake fish), according to researcher Shreshtha Chakraborty, a guest lecturer at Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidyalaya, is believed to be one of the vahanas or vehicles emblematic of Ghater Mashan, a folk deity worshipped by the Rajbanshi community- the single largest scheduled caste group in West Bengal comprising more than 18% of the state’s 21.4 million SC population as per the 2011 census.

Incidents like the shutting down of fish (and meat) shops in BJP ruled states for nearly two months every year; Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha’s comments on restricting meat selling and assaulting a chicken patties seller during a mass Gita recitation ceremony in Kolkata give TMC space to steer away the campaign from anti-incumbancy and corruption issues.

To counter this, Bidhannagar BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukherjee campaigned carrying a five kg Catla fish while in Pandaveswar, BJP candidate Jitendra Nath Tiwari filed his nomination papers accompanied by a "fish procession".

Senior Bengal BJP leaders like Union Minister Sukanta Majumder and state president Samik Bhattachraya accuse the TMC for spreading misinformation and stress that there won’t be any fish ban. “But such interviews show BJP candidates are already on a back foot,” noted Biswas.

Bengal’s unique geography was the root behind the Machhe Bhate Bangali culture that found a place from ancient Sanskrit texts to modern Bengali classics.

“Rice and fish is staple because of low lying land inter-twined with rivers and ponds. In our culture, Durga puja ends with a joda-illish (two Hilsa) offering to the Goddess,” said Sushanta Sengupta, chief chef at 6 Ballygunge Place, a popular Bengali cuisine restaurant in Kolkata.

The eastern state’s electoral battle is increasingly being fought not merely over SIR, jobs, corruption or governance, but on Bengali identity. In such a battle, the humble fish has swum to the centre of the political pond.