But it is a different story in the adjoining Sarkhej constituency. Juhapura, a Muslim ghetto of more than two lakh people and called ‘Pakistan’ by many in the city, is part of the constituency where Modi confidant Amit Shah is the BJP candidate. At one of the six elections offices that the Congress has set up in Juhapura, workers are busy—playing cards. They do not really count. Even if all the Muslims come out and vote together, it only accounts for one fifth of the voter strength of nine lakh. In 2002, Shah won by a margin of more than two lakh. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, L.K. Advani’s victory margin in Sarkhej ran into several lakhs.

Sheikh Salim, the only person interested in talking, said, “Everyone is voting for the Congress anyway...But we have to get them all to the booth,” he said, admitting that it is not easy.

In 2002, only 53 per cent Muslims voted compared to the 60 per cent overall. Muslim organisations and community leaders held a meeting last month to mobilise voters, but none associated with the initiative wants to publicise it. “We have identified 85 seats where Muslim voters number 15 per cent or more. Of that, we have excluded 16 seats where the Congress has fielded dubious candidates. In the other 69, we are trying to achieve above 80 per cent voting among the community. Despite its marginal presence, the community can indeed influence the outcome and we are trying to tell people that,” a leader of the initiative said.

... contd.