Bengal BJP is all set to rope in Swami Aseemanand--who was recently acquitted in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case--for campaign during the panchayat polls and later to spread party base in the state. Swami Assemanand alias Nabakumar Sarkar originally hails from Hooghly district of Bengal where his family presently resides. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, who is a former RSS Pracharak, stated that he already had a talk with Aseemanand who has agreed to play a role in spreading party base in the state. On Monday, a special NIA court acquitted all the five accused including Aseemanand in the Mecca Masjid blast case at Hyderabad. The blast took place on 18 May, 2007 which claimed nine lives. As many as 58 people were injured in the blast. Aseemanand, a self proclaimed monk and former RSS activist, was arrested by the CBI in 2010 in connection to the blast. Later, the case was handed over to NIA. “I know him for a long time. I have spoken to him earlier and told him that the situation in Bengal is bad and we need him to work here. He has agreed. Now that he is acquitted, he will work with us in the state. He will speak during the campaign period of panchayat polls. We are yet to work out the details,” said Ghosh speaking to Express. “He has great organisational skills and has worked with the masses for years. After the panchayat polls we want him to spread the party base in tribal areas of Bengal. Tribals are already with us and with his organisational skills, party will be further benefited. Few months back when he came in Hooghly, I had a talk with him regarding the situation in Bengal. He agreed to be with us,” he added. According to party sources, Aseemanand will shortly visit Bengal after legal formalities. State BJP unit wants him to tour different rural areas of Bengal during the campaign phase and spread party’s ideology. BJP has already sought his travel plans in Bengal. State BJP insiders feel that the party’s Hindutva ideology in the state will get a boost after Aseemanand joins hands and works at the grassroot level. BJP is emerging as the main opposition in the state keeping an eye on crucial 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Later, the BJP plans to utilise his organisational skills in tribal dominated districts of Bengal including Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore. Assemanand, who used to work for RSS backed ‘Vanabasi Kalyan Ashram’, has spent considerable time among the tribals of Bengal. Aseemanand is a resident of Kamarpukur, in Hooghly and his brother Sushanta Sarkar, is the district secretary of the district. A post graduate in Botany, Assemanand started working for tribals in Birbhum Bankura and Purulia since 1977. He later worked in different parts of India including Andaman and Nicobar islands.
