In the race to win the hearts of Bengali voters, the Bharatiya Janata Party – which the opposition often accuses of being pro-vegetarianism – began featuring fish in its election campaign in the eastern state, where it has become part of the daily dish in most homes.
The move comes amid a relentless campaign by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to brand the BJP as a “party of outsiders” that goes against the culture of Bengal.
She claimed in a number of recent rallies that the BJP would stop selling fish and meat if it comes to power in Bengal, and advised TMC supporters to greet BJP candidates with fish, meat and egg dishes.
The BJP is trying to counter this.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya and two candidates – veteran journalist Swapan Dasgupta in South Kolkata’s Rashbari seat and actor Rudranil Ghosh in Shibpur in Howrah district – spoke to TV channels while eating fish during lunch. The third candidate, Shardwat Mukhopadhyay, an oncologist from Bidhannagar in the eastern suburbs of Kolkata, went campaigning with an unusually large fish on Sunday.
“TMC is spreading all kinds of misinformation. We can have what we want: fish, mutton and chicken,” Mukhopadhyay told residents of Bidhannagar, a town populated mostly by retired bureaucrats and upper-middle-class Bengali families.
In the face of the TMC’s crackdown, Samik Bhattacharya said: “Can a Bengali survive without fish and mutton? Is this even possible?”
It is worth noting that only vegetarian food was served to thousands of BJP workers who attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kolkata rally on March 14.
“It is impossible to cook fish or meat for a large number of people with the funds allocated for such events,” said a senior state BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
The development comes months after two hawkers selling chicken dumplings at the venue of a mass ceremony of Bhagavad Gita verses at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata were assaulted and forced to do sit-ups by BJP workers on December 12. Videos of the incident went viral. The event was then attended by Governor CV Ananda Bose and senior BJP leaders of Bengal, including Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari. The police registered a complaint and arrested several BJP workers.
“BJP leaders may try what they want, but people who cannot correctly pronounce Bengali icon names like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, or call him ‘Bankim da’, will always remain outsiders,” said TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, a candidate from Kolkata.
