New Delhi: Hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party dropped K Annamalai from the list of candidates for the upcoming elections, the party MP from Karnataka stunning surya on Friday described the former Tamil Nadu BJP chief as the “most popular leader” and claimed that the party has made him responsible for campaigning for all the candidates.Campaigning for the BJP in poll-bound Kerala, Surya said, “Annamalai is the most popular leader of the BJP, he has huge supporters not only in Tamil Nadu, but across the country. He has been given the responsibility to campaign for all the candidates in Tamil Nadu.”“Even today, he is in Keralam where he has a huge following. He is also campaigning in Puducherry, where people are crazy about him. I am confident that Annamalai’s popularity across Tamil Nadu and her campaign will translate into victory for BJP candidates across the state.”Earlier in the day, the BJP released its list of 27 candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections after talks within the NDA alliance.While Tamilisai Sundararajan (Mylapore), Vanathi Srinivasan (Coimbatore North), and Union Minister L. While senior leaders like Murugan (Avinashi) have been fielded, Annamalai’s name is nowhere in the list.However, K Annamalai termed it his “responsibility” and said that he would continue to campaign for the upcoming assembly elections despite being absent from the party’s list of candidates in Tamil Nadu.Speaking to media persons after a public meeting in Kannur, Kerala, Annamalai described campaigning in Puducherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as his “role” for the BJP in the upcoming elections.He said, “In this election, my role is to campaign for the candidates all over Tamil Nadu. Right now, the party has given me the responsibility to campaign in Puducherry and Kerala till the 7th (April). From the 7th to the 23rd, I have to campaign for all the BJP and NDA candidates across Tamil Nadu. The party has given me this responsibility. I will fulfill that responsibility.”It is noteworthy that former IPS officer Annamalai is a key figure in the party’s aggressive expansion strategy in South India. He is often seen as a direct representative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, often appearing with him at major rallies.A total of 234 constituencies in the state will go to polls in a single phase on April 23 in Tamil Nadu. Counting of votes is to take place on May 4.

Why: : wCap made you Write ‘meet the upper castes‘? A: : To some extent, this also comes from my life experiences because I did not grow up in an upper caste family. I come from an inter-caste marriage between a Scheduled Caste mother and an OBC father. And neither of those sides of the family had a tradition of intergenerational literacy and what you would call high culture. But he was an immigrant from Punjab. They were raising their children in Kolkata. So I was exposed to a world that was not native to me. And as I grew up, I realized that there was a world that was all around me, but I didn’t have access to it. And that world always seemed much bigger than my own world. It seemed full of very interesting people talking about books, culture, art, the ‘higher orders of things’. When I looked at my family and the people around me, the concerns were very mundane, very existential. And as a young person…, I really wanted to escape that world orbit. And over time I began to realize that much of that world revolved around politics and the display of caste. This was the world of the upper castes. It was a world where they decided what was legitimate, what was worth talking about, what was authentic and what was fake. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fit into that world… Eventually I moved into academia and got into cultural studies and studied a fair amount of cultural anthropology as a method. I understood that when it comes to caste, sociology and anthropology departments in India are full of these books and theses that center Dalit communities, tribal communities, even OBC communities. A lot of interesting work has been done on that. But the world of the upper castes...Not much anthropological work has been done there. And one reason for this is that it is very inaccessible. For example, it is easy to go to a city slum and do research, do field work there, and interview people. You can’t try to do this by going to a gated community in Gurgaon or Bangalore…. But more importantly, it was like this academic blind spot where you have all the great writers, thinkers, intellectuals in civil society, in media, in academia, and they are all writing about caste, but they are not writing about their own castes and communities. And it’s almost as if their gaze is always outward, never inward. And I think it’s the culmination of these different aspects that brought me to this place where I started writing and theorizing about the upper castes. And it started with articles for various digital media platforms, where I was trying to create a series called ‘Like a Savarna’… and one of the articles there, ‘Dating Like a Savarna’, I felt I had written a very non-controversial article. This is just a little bit about how race, dating, and intimacy overlap. And I got an overwhelming response. A tremendous campaign was run on social media. I was called different names. And it affected my professional life, my university where I was working. I also had to suffer some consequences for this. And part of that response also made me realize that this is actually a very engaged conversation. It made me a little more determined to write it. Why: : Yyou are Now I am taking this book around Your domain location. How do you navigate it? A: : This is very challenging. The book begins very close to a memoir because I was focusing myself and my eyes on the book. As you go deeper into it, it becomes more social. This is not just a book about caste. It is also a book about this period of time… from the late 90s, early 2000s to Covid, 2020, 2022, because this was the period where the broad consensus was that India was doing well as a story, that we were on the rise, that this was our rise to superstar superpowerdom. And it was almost everywhere that you couldn’t say anything negative or you couldn’t say that the emperor had no clothes. Because then they will yell at you and say that you are being disagreeable. I’ve tried to theorize about this through the idea of ​​the glass floor in the book. So if I am under the glass floor and what you are calling the story of shining India is happening above the glass floor in the upper caste world, then that world looks very different to us… But there is almost a cost involved. My career as an academic has suffered a setback. It’s almost as if you’re always carrying a target on your back. Any right-wing reactionary group can take the title of the book and create all kinds of discussions around it. So it certainly comes with a challenging, loaded responsibility… I also want to say that a lot of understanding and love has been received from the upper castes also. A lot of people have read the book and then come back to me, not out of anger or bitterness, but through some kind of idea that, OK, I’m going to do some soul-searching now and I’m looking at myself. Why: : Iit Great moment in history that you catch From modern India, but you too make visible a young and modern audience using their penises. A: : When I was in college in the early 2000s, we were told that the 21st century was the century of Asia, India and China… There were jobs, the tech sector was booming, real estate was booming. Hollywood was paying attention to us. By every conceivable popular narrative. It seemed as if we were moving. And we had to achieve superpower status by 2020, because that is what APJ Abdul Kalam told us. Now that date has been shifted back to 2047... When 2020 comes, forget about being a superpower, it is going to be one of the most challenging years for the republic. It opens with the Shaheen Bagh protests, it goes into Covid. That positivity has completely disintegrated. And on the other hand, it seems like we have emerged and we are starting to ask ourselves where did we go wrong? And I think the mistake we made was that over this 20-25 year period, the steering wheel of this story was put in the hands of a very specific group of elites who don’t even understand their own blind spots very much. So what I am trying to explain through this book is why the Indian story does not work, why while creating this system it has replicated these pocket enclaves of extreme privilege, where our cities are not livable, our policies are impractical, there is a political and existential crisis, there is a climate change crisis, all these things have intensified and all the fruits of this great success story that we thought we would get, we have not got. And I have tried to answer some of those questions, without saying ‘this is the way it is in India.’ The system is broken. Many times the analysis is hidden behind these sweeping statements – ‘everything is broken, everything is corrupt’. No, what does broken mean? who is in charge? Who are the people who are benefiting from these types of systems? What is his politics? What is their social and cultural inner life? And I think in this book I have tried to connect both of these things. This is not just a description of the upper castes, this is not just a book on caste. It’s about both of those things and also how they connect with policymaking and the larger trajectory of this moment that we had in India and it seems like we’ve kind of wasted it. So in many ways it’s also a book about the tragedy of a post-colonial state that had it all covered and promised itself it was going to transcend itself and reach higher levels and couldn’t do it. Why: : Teais here so a lot is being said which Needed be told in classes, In drawing room conversation, In fragments of public opinion. A: : In these places wherever knowledge is produced and wherever knowledge is distributed, there is almost an absence of any kind of ethnic diversity. As a result, what has happened is that the structure has become unaware of itself. Many well-intentioned upper caste intellectuals, thinkers, progressives often misdiagnose and misunderstand what they themselves are presenting. So then the criticism just becomes right versus left, progressive versus conservative. Whereas if you look at it from the caste structure, in many of these cases, conservatives and progressives are often people from the same family WhatsApp group… The way we think about caste is fundamentally through stories of oppression, through the idea of ​​suffering and exclusion. And don’t get me wrong, these need to be documented and talked about again and again endlessly. But the system through which it mediates, through which it operates, is the upper caste system. And there is a kind of compassion in that. There’s a kind of absurdity to it… one way to deal with the pitifulness and tragedy of caste and the absurdity of it is to resort to a little bit of humor because otherwise it becomes too heavy and too intense and you can’t deal with it. So it is also a symbol of a certain dysfunction in society. This is the code that has gone wrong on which the system operates. And you see all these efforts to write it and get it right and make it work right in xyz, but the code is somewhere else. The system is working at a different level… and my effort in writing this book is to hopefully make the upper castes look at themselves a little, meet themselves a little, so that they can understand themselves a little and so they can understand the systems that they have created a little better.

This image is used for representation purpose only (AI-generated)

New Delhi: As West Bengal gears up for the 2026 assembly elections, ‘Mache Bhate Bengali’, a common phrase that used to dominate every Bengali’s household, has now moved into the political arena.With this, it has become a symbol of identity, culture and pride, shaping the narrative of the high-stakes electoral battle. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee enhanced this sentiment by taking aim at a rally in Purulia. BJP. He said, “They won’t let you eat fish. You can’t eat meat, can’t eat eggs, you can’t talk in Bengali. If you do that they will call you Bangladeshi.”

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Fish, long considered the lifeline of West Bengal, is now at the center of this story. It is a staple of almost every Bengali’s thali, but now it has gone beyond cuisine and become a symbol of cultural connection.The phrase ‘Mache Bhate Bangla’ which means Bengali is defined by fish and rice, has crossed over from the kitchen to the political arena, showing how everyday traditions are now shaping the state’s election campaign framework.

fish on promotional menu

In the election season of West Bengal, the fish has gone from the dinner plate to the center of the political web.Trinamool Congress (TMC) is using it to tap into Bengali pride, while the BJP is struggling not to get caught on the wrong side of the ‘Machhale Bhate Bengali’ sentiment.From Katla fish being prominent in road shows to Ilish, Pabda and Chingri getting a prominent place in speeches, fish has emerged as a powerful metaphor. It is now a symbol of identity, culture and the question of who actually represents the “real” Bengali.The TMC has weaponized this sentiment, arguing that the BJP, associated with the Hindi-speaking, vegetarian-first politics of North India, is culturally alien to Bengal.

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Mamata Banerjee made this point at a rally: “If BJP comes to power, they will ban meat and fish in Bengal. I saw the Deputy CM of Bihar saying that fish and meat cannot be sold in open markets. Only those who have a license can sell meat indoors. So, will everyone sell meat and fish in shopping malls? Only a few have the economic strength to do so. Most fish sellers sell fresh fish on the streets here. They sell it and earn their living from this. I condemn this politics.”By building the campaign around Bengali identity, TMC has shifted its focus towards cultural nationalism. Thus, fish is no longer just a dish served in every household; It is a symbol of Bengali pride.

Pak nationalism and social media

TMC’s social media has amplified this narrative by posting pictures of Ilish Bhapa, Pabda Jhal, Chingri Malai Curry, Kosha Mangsho and other dishes.Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s 15-day visit to Bengal, the party tweeted: “Bengal welcomes tourists. Don’t miss our dishes. We highly recommend: Muri Ghonto, Pabda Macher Jhal, Ilish Bhapa, Chingri Malai Curry, Bhetki Paturi, Kosha Mangsho. Have a pleasant stay!”Political analyst Maidul Islam said, “Within that Bengali project, eating fish is an important element. When fish markets elsewhere are attacked, or Hindi-speaking leaders turn up their noses at fish, it becomes a campaign issue. TMC is saying that it is an organic party of Bengalis and hence it is associated with Bengali food habits.

In West Bengal, fish is more than food. It marks life events: from a child’s first eating of rice, to gifts at weddings, to meals after bereavement.According to PTI, World Bank data shows that West Bengal consumes 8.36 lakh tonnes of fish annually, almost double the national average and fish and meat together account for about one-fifth of household food expenditure.For many, attempts to impose vegetarian or homophobic food habits from outside the state raise fears of cultural invasion.A Kolkata-based Indologist said, “For Bengalis, fish is not just food. It is memory, ritual and identity. To challenge it is to make West Bengal look foreign.”Kaushik Maiti of Bengali nationalist organization Bangla Pokkho said: “Fish is part of the Bengali identity. But the BJP wants to impose the vegetarian food culture of North India, we oppose it.”

BJP’s fish dilemma

BJP says that TMC is creating fear. Leaders say there is no proposal to ban fish or meat in West Bengal. Nevertheless, the perception is quite strong that BJP candidates are now campaigning with fish in hand.Bidhannagar BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukherjee walked around the neighborhood carrying five kilos of Katla fish with him and assured voters that the BJP would never interfere in Bengali food habits.In Pandaveshwar, BJP candidate Jitendra Nath Tiwari filed nomination papers with a “fish procession”, with supporters walking with baskets while they held bigger baskets in their hands. He said, “If promoting the culture of West Bengal is a drama, then I am proud of this drama.”Political analyst Suman Bhattacharya said, “The perception that the BJP is against fish and non-vegetarian food has become so strong that party leaders now have to eat fish in public and campaign with it. This shows how their vegetarian politics did not work elsewhere in West Bengal.”State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya stressed: “There is no question of banning fishing. Bengalis will eat fish and Biharis will eat mutton. If anyone tries to stop me, I will protest.”TMC’s story gets strengthened by incidents in BJP ruled states. Earlier, Bihar Deputy CM’s comment Vijay Kumar Sinha Bans on meat near schools and places of worship and prior controversies over meat shops and fish markets add to fears that a North Indian vegetarian-first cultural model may be imposed in Bengal.In January, a vendor was allegedly attacked for selling chicken patties near a religious congregation in Kolkata. The controversy deepened due to this incident.

As the elections are heating up, the West Bengal Assembly elections are not just about seats, governance or development, they are also about identity, culture and cuisine.The simple fish, a culinary staple, has emerged as a political symbol, showing that in Bengal, thali and politics are inextricably linked.As TMC spokesperson Tanmay Ghosh said: “Meat and fish eaters can be Nobel laureates, scholars, entrepreneurs and rebels who change history with the pen, not violence… Linking eating habits to ‘violent tendencies’ is a moral imposition. India’s strength lies in pluralism, diversity and constitutional freedoms – not in controlling plates.”Elections for 294 seats in West Bengal will be held in two phases: April 23 (152 constituencies) and April 29 (142), and the results will be declared on May 4.

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