Aseemanand's absence puts BJP on back foot in Dang

SURAT: Since Independence, BJP managed to win only one assembly poll in Dang in 2007 riding on the organization of Shabari Kumbh in February 2006 by Aseemanand, an accused in the Samjhauta Express blast. The saffron party lost the seat again to Congress in 2012 as Aseemanand was missing from the poll scene. Dang region is a part of Valsad parliamentary constituency that the BJP failed to win in 2009.
In the absence of Aseemanand and stiff opposition by BJP leader Kanji Patel from within, the going is tough once again for party candidate K C Patel, who is pitted against the sitting Congress MP Kishan Patel.
Shabri Kumbh, brain child of Aseemanand, was one of the biggest Hindu religious gatherings in which BJP and RSS leaders, including BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, participated. It was the presence of Aseemanand in Dang since 1996 that saw several Hindutva events being organized that led to communal polarization. The area had also witnessed riots in 1998.
Aseemanand went underground after the Samjhauta blast in 2007. He was arrested in 2010 from Varanasi. His supporters made an unsuccessful attempt to once again organize Shabri Kumbh in 2012. "Of course Shabri Kumbh helped BJP win the poll in 2007. It is not that the BJP has gone weak after the arrest of Swamiji, but there are other reasons that are to be blamed. We are aiming for a better support from Dang in this parliamentary election," former BJP MLA from Dang Vijay Patel said.
"BJP benefited a lot due to Shabri Kumbh and Swamiji's efforts. Anti incumbency for Congress was also a reason for BJP's win in 2007 as Congress candidate Madhu Bhoye won consecutive five terms," BJP president in Dang Baburao Choriya said.