To win, Gyasuddin Sheikh has to not only work hard, but also work discreetly. Any signs of a strong Muslim mobilisation could invite a Hindu backlash, the mortal fear of his party, the Congress. Sheikh moved door-to-door, with Hindu companions who wear their identity as a tilak on their foreheads.

The Congress has seven Muslim candidates across 182 seats—which represents less than the proportionate number of Muslims in Gujarat’s population. “We had requested the Congress to give 17 seats to Muslims where the community’s population is more than 25 per cent,” says Shakil Ahmad of the Islamic Relief Committee. That would have been closer to the 10 per cent share of seats if population was considered.

Sheikh had to fight hard to get a Congress nomination. In Shahpur in Ahmedabad, nearly 50 per cent voters are Muslims but the Congress did not field a candidate from the community in 2002. Shiekh contested as an Independent, causing the party’s defeat. “This time, we told the Congress that whether Hindu or Muslim, only a local candidate is acceptable,” the builder-turned-politician said.

His chances are bright in the constituency that has 41,000 Muslims out of 87,000 voters. The Muslim votes count and Sheikh is on the move. In the forenoon, he meets people at homes and in the evenings he addresses small mohalla meetings. He is raising only bread and butter issues with voters—about the slums that have been demolished, and “hollowness of the BJP’s development claims.”

... contd.