Modi, Mamata spar over fish as Bengal poll campaign heats up

As the election campaign gained momentum in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (April 9, 2026) targeted each other on a number of issues, but fish production and consumption emerged as an unusual threat in the political slugfest between the two leaders.

Speaking at the coastal town of Haldia in State’s Purba Medinipur district, the Prime Minister spoke of West Bengal not being self-sufficient in fish production.