In the race to win the hearts of Bengali voters, the Bharatiya Janata Party – often accused by the Opposition to be a proponent of vegetarianism—has started projecting fish in its campaign in the eastern state, where it is part of the daily platter in most homes.. Representational image. (Shutterstock). The move comes amid Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee’s relentless campaign to tag BJP as a “party of outsiders” that is against Bengal’s culture.. She alleged at a number of recent rallies that the BJP will stop the sale of 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 at south Kolkata’s Rashbehari seat and actor Rudranil Ghosh in Howrah district’s Shibpur – have talked to television channels while having fish during lunch; a third nominee, Sharadwat Mukhopadhyay, an oncologist fielded from Bidhannagar on Kolkata’s eastern outskirts, went campaigning with an unusually large fish on Sunday.. “TMC is spreading all sorts of misinformation. We can have whatever we want; fish, mutton and chicken,” Mukhopadhyay told residents of Bidhannagar, a township populated mostly by retired bureaucrats and upper-middle class Bengali families.. Countering the TMC’s campaign, Samik Bhattacharya said, “Can a Bengali survive without fish and mutton? Is that even possible?”. Significantly, 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 so many people with funds that are allocated for such events,” a senior state BJP leader said, requesting anonymity.. The development comes months after two hawkers selling chicken patties at the venue of a mass recital of Bhagavad Gita verses in Kolkata’s Brigade Parade grounds were allegedly assaulted and made to do sit-ups by BJP workers on December 12. Videos of the incident went viral. Then governor CV Ananda Bose and Bengal’s top BJP leaders, including Union minister Sukanta Majumdar and the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari attended the event.Police registered a complaint and arrested several BJP workers.. “BJP leaders may try whatever they wants but people who cannot properly pronounce the names Bengali icons such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, or call him “Bankim Da,” will always remain outsiders,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, a candidate from Kolkata, said.
