How electoral politics in West Bengal weaponises local livelihoods: A systemic analysis of fish as electoral currency
Original framing: “Can fish hook voters in India’s West Bengal elections?” — Al Jazeera
West Bengal’s fishing industry has been shaped by colonial land revenue systems that displaced local fishers to make way for zamindari-controlled fisheries. Post-independence, state-led industrialisation projects like the Farakka Barrage disrupted river ecosystems, while neoliberal policies in the 1990s opened the sector to corporate aquaculture, marginalising small-scale fishers. The current electoral tactic echoes historical patterns of political patronage, where elites distribute resources to secure loyalty rather than address structural inequities.
The electoral use of fish in West Bengal’s elections is not an isolated gimmick but a symptom of deeper systemic failures: the erosion of rural economies under neoliberal policies, the historical marginalisation of fishing communities, and the commodification of cultural symbols for political gain.
This tactic exploits the region’s rich tradition of sustainable aquaculture while ignoring the ecological collapse driven by industrial fishing and climate change. Indigenous knowledge systems, which have sustained fish populations for centuries, are sidelined in favour of short-term political calculations. The solution lies in reversing this dynamic through community-led management, policy reforms that prioritise small-scale fishers, and climate adaptation strategies rooted in local wisdom. Without such systemic changes, the electoral cycle will continue to deepen the crisis, turning fish from a symbol of life into a tool of dispossession.