"When much of India observes fasting during Navratri, Bengalis celebrate by feasting during Durga Puja."
Three years ago, Instagram Reels and posts carrying this message went viral in the run-up to Durga Puja. At the time, West Bengal was at an interesting political crossroads. The Trinamool Congress appeared firmly entrenched in power, but the BJP was rapidly expanding its presence, while several Hindu right-wing organisations were beginning to make their influence felt in the state's social and cultural sphere.
For many Bengalis, this was the first time they were encountering a debate contrasting Navratri with Durga Puja. Some argued that decades of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule had weakened the religious character of Durga Puja. Others questioned whether it was appropriate to eat non-vegetarian food while many non-Bengali citizens were following strict vegetarian diets during Navratri.
Against this backdrop, the Instagram slogan was an attempt by Bengalis to respond to uncomfortable questions circulating across social media. It was not particularly forceful, but it reflected an established cultural practice and hinted at a political undercurrent that many failed to recognise.
The BJP's Bengal unit may have been among those who missed that signal. After pursuing the goal for years, the party eventually came to power in 2026, pushing the Trinamool Congress towards the margins of state politics.
Four months into its tenure, the BJP faces no major political challenge on the ground. Following a split within the TMC, the party is currently far from mounting an effective challenge to the BJP. The Congress lacks organisational strength, while the Left largely depends on its historical legacy. For now, the BJP has emerged as the dominant political force in Bengal.
However, the situation beneath that political dominance is more complicated. Despite the BJP's electoral advantage and growing grassroots presence across the state, a sense of uneasiness has gradually emerged within Bengali society. This sentiment is not openly political, but it concerns an issue deeply connected to Bengal's social, cultural and political identity.
Non-vegetarian food has long been an integral part of Bengal's cultural and civilisational traditions. It is now increasingly becoming the target of criticism from prominent Hindu right-wing organisations and figures. Since many people do not clearly distinguish between these organisations and the BJP, the party could face political consequences from such remarks.
To understand this contradiction, two developments need to be examined: the BJP's unprecedented rise in Bengal and the growing discomfort that has emerged beneath its political dominance.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BENGAL'S POLITICAL KITCHEN?
The results announced on May 4 produced an unexpected political landscape in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress, once considered almost unbeatable in the state, was reduced to 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the BJP secured an impressive 208 seats. The TMC then entered a period of rapid decline marked by internal factionalism.
The first major challenge came from Ritabrata Banerjee, now the Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly. He accused the Trinamool Congress of allegedly forging signatures while appointing veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition. Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha filed a complaint, prompting an investigation by the Bengal CID. The TMC subsequently expelled both leaders.
Rather than ending the controversy, however, the move intensified the crisis. A majority of TMC MLAs, including prominent Mamata Banerjee loyalists such as Firhad Hakim and Madan Mitra, as well as leaders including Aroop Biswas and Anubrata Mondal, soon aligned themselves with Ritabrata. His faction now claims to be the legitimate Trinamool Congress.
While the rebellion was developing inside Bengal, another split was taking shape in Delhi. Twenty of the TMC's 28 elected MPs, led by another Mamata loyalist, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, announced that they were merging with the relatively unknown Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). They also declared their support for the NDA government.
The developments were likely welcomed by Suvendu Adhikari. The issue was not simply that the NCPI was backing the NDA or that an individual with limited mass support had become Leader of the Opposition. Rather, the developments meant Mamata Banerjee would remain occupied with internal challenges, leaving her with little room to lead an effective street-level opposition against the BJP government. Four months into the BJP's tenure, that situation has largely continued.
Until the recent controversy surrounding the TMC symbol and bypoll candidates, Mamata Banerjee had made relatively few appearances on the ground and increasingly relied on Facebook Live to communicate with supporters. Her nephew, following an egg attack in Sonarpur, has been travelling abroad for treatment, while the wider party organisation remains focused on confronting the Ritabrata faction and dealing with legal battles.
In Bengal's political kitchen, therefore, the TMC is facing a deep crisis. The Left remains uncertain about whether its main opponent should be the Trinamool Congress, either the Mamata or Ritabrata faction, or the BJP. The Congress, meanwhile, lacks the grassroots organisation necessary to emerge as a credible alternative to the ruling party.
On the surface, this leaves the BJP in a highly favourable political position.
But there is another side to the story.
GROWING UNEASE OVER NON-VEGETARIAN FOOD
Eggs have unexpectedly become an issue in Bengal's political discourse since May 4.
The nutritious food item was first thrown at Abhishek Banerjee and later at some TMC leaders accused of corruption and extortion. But eggs soon moved beyond political confrontations and became part of a wider dispute involving the BJP government, the weakened opposition and civil society.
The controversy intensified when Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that midday meals in schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation would be provided by ISKCON. The meals were to be vegetarian, meaning eggs would be removed from the menu.
The announcement sparked political opposition, prompting the Suvendu government to change course. In the first week of August, the state government announced that students would receive eggs twice a week through a separate government programme, in addition to the vegetarian midday meals supplied by ISKCON.
The debate over non-vegetarian food had already begun creating unease, and several subsequent incidents intensified it.
A VEGETARIAN DURGA PUJA?
A brightly lit pandal stands as the centrepiece of a Durga Puja celebration, designed around a theme depicting social, economic and political issues of contemporary life. Inside is a large idol of Goddess Durga. Outside, food stalls offer egg, chicken and mutton rolls along with numerous other non-vegetarian dishes. Long queues form as people gather not only to eat but also to participate in a culinary tradition that has become deeply connected with Bengal's biggest festival.
This long-standing combination of Durga Puja celebrations and non-vegetarian food could face a challenge this year. Theme-based pandals and the availability of non-vegetarian dishes have attracted criticism first from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu right-wing organisation affiliated with the RSS, and later from Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, head of Baba Bageshwar Dham.
In an appeal to Bengalis, the VHP urged people to preserve what it described as the religious character of Durga Puja and called on organisers not to sell non-vegetarian food in and around puja pandals. The statement triggered a major controversy, with many Bengalis criticising both the organisation and the Suvendu government.
The VHP later clarified its position, saying the advisory was not intended to prevent people from following their own food preferences. However, Dhirendra Shastri, popularly known as Baba Bageshwar, separately appealed to Bengalis to avoid non-vegetarian food during Navratri. He described such food as dirty and referred to people who eat it during Navratri as pakhandi, or religious hypocrites.
Shastri said he was appealing to Hindus in Bengal not to sell non-vegetarian food near idols during Navratri, even if they did not themselves install Goddess idols.
His remarks quickly triggered a political controversy. Content creators, social media users, opposition leaders and even some BJP lawmakers criticised Baba Bageshwar. The BJP distanced itself from his comments, with state president Samik Bhattacharya saying that he himself would eat mutton on Nabami, the second-last day of Durga Puja.
Although the BJP itself has not directly sought to dictate people's food choices, the comments from the VHP and Baba Bageshwar could create difficulties for the party, particularly with municipal elections approaching.
The debate over non-vegetarian food had already begun taking hold and would become more prominent through several other incidents.
WHY DOES NON-VEGETARIAN FOOD MATTER IN BENGAL?
On Vijaya Dashami, before the immersion of the Durga idol, many Bengali families traditionally offer puti machh (swamp barb) or hilsa to Goddess Durga.
There is also a popular story passed down through Bengali families. According to a story shared by the writer's grandmother, Goddess Durga once visited her maternal home and was treated to a grand feast. When it was time for her to return to her husband's home, her mother asked what she wanted for her final meal. Since Durga was suffering from indigestion, she requested rice and puti machh.
The tradition of offering fish is associated with this story. Bengali families also have a saying: "Barir meyeke macch na khaiye bidaye janate nei" — meaning that a daughter should not be sent back to her in-laws without first feeding her fish.
While this is part of mythology, there are also documented remarks about non-vegetarian food from Swami Vivekananda. The monk, who once ate the supposedly prohibited fowl cutlet, wrote in Prachyo and Paschatta about Shiva playing his damru, Kali eating sacrificial goat meat and Krishna playing the flute, suggesting that such traditions would continue in India.
His guru, Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, similarly argued that if a person could remain focused on God after eating beef or pork, such food was equivalent to pure sanctified food, while vegetables consumed by someone deeply attached to worldly concerns were no better than meat.
For Bengalis, therefore, eating non-vegetarian food represents far more than a simple dietary choice. Fish and meat have been deeply embedded in Bengal's cultural imagination for centuries, appearing in everyday conversations as well as literature, cinema and music. Food is an important part of the region's distinctive cultural identity.
This may explain why Baba Bageshwar's comments and the VHP's appeal triggered such a strong reaction across Bengal, cutting across political affiliations. The Congress filed a complaint against Baba Bageshwar, while some party workers protested by striking his photograph with shoes. The CPI(M) also criticised him, while some BJP legislators and spiritual figures rejected his comments as well.
There is no denying that the BJP came to power with a substantial majority, a result that even some of its strongest supporters may not have expected.
Yet governing Bengal during the first four months has not been straightforward. Controversies surrounding hawker evictions, protests over delays in receiving Annapurna Scheme benefits, the lack of major investment announcements and the debate over non-vegetarian food have all provided the opposition and civil society with issues on which to challenge the government.
Over recent years, Bengal has experienced several quiet political undercurrents that eventually affected Mamata Banerjee's electoral fortunes. It may be too soon to compare the current situation with the past, but similar consequences could emerge if the BJP fails to account for the cultural sensitivities that shape Bengali society, particularly when prominent Hindu organisations begin commenting on people's food choices.
At present, the BJP does not face a political opponent with comparable strength. But the controversy over vegetarian and non-vegetarian food has created another source of political tension.
For the BJP, the issue is not necessarily whether it is asking Bengalis to stop eating meat. Rather, the challenge lies in the growing perception among ordinary people that the distinction between the BJP and the wider Hindu-right ecosystem is becoming increasingly blurred.
