In Ghodasar village of Mehmedabad seat, memories of 2002 do not sit easy. It was on March 3, 2002, that 14 Muslims were hacked in their farms. A year later, a local court in the state sentenced 12 villagers to life imprisonment.

“There is no major issue now, the Muslims live in their settlements. In fact, we got some of them back from Jinger village,” said Parbat Dabhi, the Ghodsar sarpanch.

But for the Muslims here, it isn’t as simple as that. They prefer not to say much and like in most other riot-affected constituencies, believe that it’s more important to exercise their right to vote. “It is not about who is going to win—the Congress or the BJP. But the fact that we are part of the decision process makes us feel like citizens,” said a Muslim farmer in the area.

Like the rest of Kheda, Mehmedabad went the BJP way in 2002 when Sundarsinh Chauhan won from here. The seat has a mix of Kshatriyas, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and a fair sprinkling of Muslims. The Ghodsar case resulted in the first conviction in the post-Godhra riots.

The BJP’s Sundersinh Chauhan is believed to have good contacts in the constituency that is barely 40-odd kilometers from Ahmedabad. But Congress leaders believe that they could regain the Kshatriya votebank if they stay united.