Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah had to specifically clarify his party’s stand on fish and eggs in West Bengal, which is witnessing elections on Friday. He said the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was “spreading rumours” and that “the consumption of fish and eggs will not stop” if the BJP comes to power in the state, where the Hindutva-led ruling party hopes to unseat Mamata Banerjee’s regional party, which has been in power since 2011.
Elections will be held in the state on April 23 and 29, with the vote counting and results scheduled for May 4.
Shah’s assertion came when he issued the BJP’s election manifesto, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a public rally in Haldia, said the TMC government had failed to match fish production with rising demand in the state. He promised that the BJP would make the state self-sufficient in fisheries and seafood sector.
Meat plays a role on the “outside” playing field.
Then CM Mamata Banerjee said at a rally at Agarpara in North 24 Parganas district that people are not allowed to eat non-vegetarian food in BJP-ruled states.
“I heard that today, he (the Prime Minister) said that there is no fish production in Bengal, while Bihar produces more and exports. But you do not allow people to eat fish in Bihar. Here we buy fish from the markets and eat it,” the TMC said. “We produce fish in our ponds. Fish is available in every market. People here are free to eat according to their choice. We do not interfere in it. People in BJP-ruled states are not allowed to eat eggs, fish and meat,” she said.
CM Banerjee also claimed that the BJP “will ban fish, meat and even eggs” if it comes to power in the state. At another event, she reiterated this, as part of her campaign portraying the BJP as a party that is incompatible with Bengal as a cultural entity. “They are not aware of the traditions and culture of West Bengal… It is a party of outsiders,” Banerjee said.
The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted by the central government says that more than 70% of people in India consume some form of meat – with some differentiation between the Hindu majority, the largest Muslim minority, Christians, tribals and others.
In West Bengal and Nagaland, surveys put the number of meat-eaters at close to 99%, with another state linked to the survey, Kerala in the south, also close to that figure.
The BJP and its ideological parent body the RSS have traditionally considered vegetarianism to be a tenet of the Hindu religion, but the party has relaxed this for states where Hindus also mostly eat meat.
Beef is a particularly sticking point, as the BJP stresses that the cow is considered sacred in Hinduism. But he promised not to ban it even in states where this product is essential.
In Bengal, fish is an integral part of Bengali cultural identity, from roadside stalls to wedding feasts and religious rituals.
Talk in these places now centers on whether Prime Minister Modi’s party will ban fish if it comes to power.
The BJP says it will not ban it, and is dangling fish to prove it
The BJP, even before self-proclaimed vegetarian Amit Shah’s statement on Friday, had denied that it intended to ban fish in the state.
Local leaders, in particular, have sought to allay fears – clearly. A video of BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay campaigning with a fish dangling from his hand has gone viral.
BJP state unit president Samik Bhattacharya said the aim of the campaign was to “confront the TMC”.
“Most people in (West) Bengal eat non-vegetarian food and even the BJP leadership consumes non-vegetarian food,” Bhattacharya said.
But Mamata Banerjee’s warnings tapped into this sentiment.
“If any restrictions are imposed on the sale of fish, people in the state will revolt,” Sumita Dutta, 59, a resident of Kolkata and a teacher at a state-run school, told AFP. “I cannot imagine Bengalis without preparing fish during lunch or dinner,” she added.
“Fish is important to Bengali culture and cuisine, as it is a daily staple and a delicacy,” said Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chowdhury, former vice-chancellor of a state university. This ranges from the sacred ‘hilsa’ served as prasad during ceremonies, to carp served in wedding rituals as a symbol of fertility.
“Fish and rice make Bengali,” he said.
Vote hunting
But concerns in Bengal stem from the BJP and others from the RSS, or “family of organizations,” imposing restrictions on meat, especially during Hindu festivals, elsewhere.
In Bengal’s neighboring state of Bihar, where the Bharatiya Janata Party retained power last year, the sale of fish and meat near schools and religious sites was banned in February.
In 2024, the BJP government in the northeastern state of Assam, another neighbor of Bengal, announced a complete ban on the serving or consumption of beef in restaurants, hotels, public events and public places, expanding previous local restrictions into a state-level policy.
But in Kerala, the BJP’s stance on beef differs from its rhetoric at the national level, often taking a pragmatic approach to accommodate local customs. While the party opposes cow slaughter in general, BJP leaders in Kerala have often stated that they are not opposed to the sale or consumption of beef, with some candidates even promising voters high-quality beef.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi even took to animal biology to recently insist that the beef consumed in northeastern India, in places like Assam and Nagaland, comes from an animal called “mithun,” a different type of cow.
