There is no doubt that Asim has gained ample of fan following in a span of mere 2 months ! He is definitely a very tough contender right now !
He is quite marketable like you said....Him winning will open a lot of prospects not only for him but for the channel...He does have a very likable n charming personality as well
BUT
The way channel and makers are OPENLY biased towards Shukla and they try their best to somehow white wash his image and cover up his blunders.....The way they ignore Asim majority of the time it looks like Asim was never a part of their plan.
Many have pointed out how makers always wanted this season to be Shukla vs Rashmi .....Both have worked for colors before and THIS is a huge thing coz I have seen that Colors always promotes their own people....So, not only the channel but even us general viewers had thought that it will be Shukla vs Rashmi when the season began
BUT
Asim was a surprise package ! He came from behind, he's the dark horse of the race who is becoming more and more of a threat to Shukla and Rashmi with each passing day and makers and channel didn't anticipate it !
So, I am not sure if channel and makers will allow Asim to win when popular 'Colors' actors Shukla and Rashmi are there
It remains to be seen if channel will go the predictable way and make their own actors 'the winner' like before OR they will go for the dark horse who as per me has the best journey in the house so far and him winning will make the most interesting story !
I really want Asim to win coz I feel he deserves it.....If channel will alllow it or not that remains to be seen..going by how biased they are, I am not very hopeful..having said that there is a teeney weeney glimmer of hope in a corner of my heart