City mayor and former city unit BJP president Amit Shah said matter-of-factly, “The effect of migration depends on which community has moved out and from where. If they are Hindus, then the Congress will benefit and if they are Muslims, then the BJP will gain.” He admitted that if Hindus migrated from Shahpur, Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel could be in trouble.

People have also been moving out for reasons other than the riots. For instance, people from the old city areas have moved to newer areas like Satellite Road, Jodhpur, S.G. highway, Vejalpur and Juhapura to avoid congestion in old city areas. Also, property tax in these areas is quite low compared to that in the Walled City area. Property tax will be increased in new areas too, but only in increments over the next four years.

Political parties will also be affected in residential areas like Shahpur, Kalupur and Khadia constituencies, which have been converted into commercial zones.

Voters in Dariapur-Kazipur, Shaherkotda and Jamalpur have shifted. In these areas, commercial establishments —electronics, printing press, paper, automobiles—are running out of houses.