At a rally in Kolkata’s Garia, Trinamool Congress leader Aroop Biswas hoisted a large Rohu or rui and declared, “They don’t know our culture…Bengalis are synonymous with fish-eating,” as he accused the BJP of curbing sales in states it governs.

In Bengal, rice and fish are more than staples. “Bengalis feel incomplete if they are unable to have a fish preparation at least once a day. Fish can be eaten crisply fried or cooked into a light and thin jhol [gravy], a rich kalia or a delicious jhal,” writes author Mohona Kanjilal in Taste Of Time: A Food History of Calcutta (2021).

This deep-rooted affinity flows from the land itself.…