The Trinamool Congress is mulling construction of 10 Sun temples in Asansol area of south Bengal to peddle its “soft Hindutva” brand and take the wind out of the BJP’s sails in the state ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Mayor of Asansol Municipal Corporation, Jitendra Kumar Tiwari is at the forefront of construction of the temples in his area which is likely to be completed before next year’s ‘Chhath’ puja.
In addition to increasing outreach among the majority community members, the TMC’s efforts also appear to be guided by its endeavour to further endear itself with the migrant Hindi speaking population from Bihar and Jharkhand in the region which has five Lok Sabha constituencies.
“In this area of Durgapur-Asansol, there is a huge Hindi speaking population. Every year, we witness large number of devotees during Chhath Puja. In order to cater to them, we have decided to build 10 sun temples in the area,” Mr Tiwari, who is also the chairman of Chhath Puja Coordination Committee, told PTI.
The designs of the temples would be ready by December and the construction will cost around Rs. 2 crore, Mr Tiwari, who is also a TMC MLA from the West Burdwan district, said.
“We have already started mobilizing funds from the locals for the construction of the temples. We have formed temple committees in different areas to raise funds. The Asansol Municipal Corporation will provide infrastructure support such as roads and electricity,” he said.
Asansol-Durgapur belt has been one of the most politically and communally volatile regions in the state since 2014 Lok Sabha polls, which witnessed a surprising victory of BJP’s Babul Supriyo.
Earlier, in March-April of this year, Asansol in West Burdwan district witnessed communal riots over Ram Navami celebrations.
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