Campaigners for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have taken an unusual approach to winning over voters in West Bengal, appearing at rallies and public events holding fish - a staple of Bengali cuisine and a powerful cultural symbol in the state.
According to Al Jazeera, ahead of the West Bengal elections, associates of Prime Minister Narendra Modi deployed the tactic in an effort to forge a deeper connection with local voters, for whom fish is not merely food but a point of regional identity and pride.
A culturally loaded symbol
West Bengal has a deep and well-documented relationship with fish, particularly the hilsa - a prized river fish considered a delicacy across Bengali communities on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border. The rohu, another popular freshwater species, also holds significant cultural weight in the region.
For the BJP, a party whose Hindu nationalist base has historically been associated with vegetarianism and cow protection, publicly embracing fish consumption represents a notable strategic shift. The optics of party campaigners holding fish at public events signals an attempt to adapt messaging to local customs in a state where the party has struggled to unseat the long-dominant Trinamool Congress (TMC).
A competitive political landscape
West Bengal has been one of the most fiercely contested political battlegrounds in India in recent years. The TMC, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has held power in the state since 2011, defeating the BJP in the 2021 state assembly elections despite an aggressive campaign by the ruling party at the federal level.
The BJP's use of culturally resonant symbols like fish reflects the broader challenge the party faces in penetrating a state with a distinct linguistic, culinary, and political identity. Critics of the approach have questioned whether such gestures can substitute for substantive local policy commitments.
Symbolism and electoral strategy
Political symbolism around food is not new in Indian elections. Candidates across the country routinely participate in local festivals, eat regional dishes on camera, and invoke culinary traditions to signal solidarity with communities they are seeking to represent.
Whether the fish gambit will prove effective for the BJP in West Bengal remains to be seen. The state's voters have historically prioritized issues such as employment, agricultural policy, and local governance - factors that may ultimately outweigh campaign theatrics, analysts suggest.
Al Jazeera's report did not specify the exact timing or outcome of the elections being referenced, but documented the fish-centered campaigning as a defining visual feature of the BJP's outreach efforts in the state.
