In this screenshot of a video posted on April 26, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers at ‘Thanthaniya Kalibari’ amid the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections in Kolkata.

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi Before his road show in Kolkata on Sunday, Thanthania offered prayers at Kalibari – one of the few abodes of Goddess Kali where meat is offered as ‘prasad’ – which political circles interpreted as his strong gesture to woo voters. TMClaunch of BJP As a ‘North Indian Party’ that is steeped in vegetarianism and is uncomfortable with the eating habits of Bengal rooted in non-vegetarian food.Thanthania Kalibari, where the goddess is worshiped as Maa Siddeshwari, is one of the oldest and most revered Kali temples in Kolkata and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is believed to have frequently visited there, where he sang hymns to the goddess.CM Mamata Banerjee has led the TMC’s charge that if it comes to power, the BJP will try to curb the state’s meat-eating habits and replace them with the practice of North Indian states, where consumption of non-vegetarian food during religiously auspicious days is frowned upon.His projection of the BJP as a party of outsiders unfamiliar with Bengali values ​​has been the focus of his political attacks, prompting the national party to make concerted efforts to dispel this narrative.BJP officials, including MP Anurag Thakur, had shared pictures of themselves eating ‘maachh-bhaat’ during their campaign in Bengal.The BJP hopes that the temple visit by Modi, who is himself a vegetarian and fasts during Navratri, will take the message home.This practice of non-vegetarian ‘Prasad’ was started by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, one of the most revered spiritual figures of the state. When he fell ill, his followers prayed at the temple for his speedy recovery and served non-vegetarian ‘Prasad’ to the Lord.