West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | TMC’s fish-mutton welcome to Amit Shah meets BJP’s veg thali riposte

Kolkata: As Home Minister Amit Shah announced his plans to spend 15 days in poll-bound West Bengal to ensure the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday dished out a cheeky welcome for him, spicing it up with a with a bit of Bangaliyana — its cultural counter to the saffron party’s Hindutva.

“Bengal welcomes tourists with open arms,” the TMC posted on X, soon after Shah, while participating in a BJP rally in Bhabanipur in Kolkata, made public his plan to spend 15 days in the state ahead of the polling on April 23 and 29. “Stay for as long as you like. And do not miss out on some of our finest delicacies.”

The TMC then went on to suggest that Shah – known to be a vegetarian like many BJP stalwarts – must try signature non-veg dishes of Bengal – Muri Ghonto (fish-head curry), Pabda Macher Jhal (spicy butterfish curry), Ilish Bhapa (steamed hilsa fish), Chingri Malai Curry (prawn coconut curry), Bhetki Paturi (banana leaf-wrapped Asian Seabass), and Kosha Mangsho (slow-cooked mutton curry) during his stay.

The TMC’s culinary crack for the Union Home Minister followed the recent warning by the party supremo and the West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, that Bengalis might be denied their staple fare — fish, mutton and eggs — if the BJP was allowed to come to power in the state.

The BJP did not take the jibe lying down.

“Another new low of Trinamool. Knowing very well that @AmitShah ji is a vegetarian, TMC stooped down to showcase a non-veg thali in front of him,” Keya Ghosh, a state BJP leader, hit back on X, adding: “Or maybe Trinamool is unaware of our veg delicacies”.

She then listed a full course Bengali vegetarian meal that included Luchi (puffed flatbread made of refined wheat flour), Basanti Pulao (saffron rice), Shada Bhaat (plain rice) or Ghee Bhaat (rice with ghee) and several items, like Enchorer Dalna (raw jackfruit curry), Pataler Dolma (stuffed pointed gourd), Chhanar Dalna (cheese curry) and Alu Posto (potatoes in poppy seed paste). She also suggested desserts like Naram Paaker Sandesh and Rosogolla.

Saradwat Mukhopadhyay, the BJP candidate in Bidhannagar in Kolkata, recently carried a fish during campaigning – in order to drive home the point that the saffron party, contrary to the ‘propaganda’ by its political rivals, would not take away fish or other non-veg delicacies from the menu of the Bengalis, if voted to power in West Bengal.