Muslims all for Cong in North

PALANPUR: Riots and stark discrimination against Muslims still haunt North Gujarat. So, when Congress candidate Virji Judal is out campaigning around midnight, people do not mind leaving their beds to greet him.
The narrow alleys and bylanes of Muslim-dominated ward number 3 hum with activity as the youngsters join the Congress workers. An old man assures Judal that all the Muslim voters here are with him.
A similar mood pervades the entire North Gujarat, which saw riots at many places, with Congress candidates being greeted fervently. A large number of Muslim voters are showing solidarity with the Congress here like never before.
"The BJP-led municipality has stopped supplying water to us. Rest of the Palanpur gets water twice a day for few hours, but our ward gets water for a few minutes once in three-four days," says leading advocate Aiyyub Kureshi.
In the nearby town of Deesa, the problems are similar. Bhopapura, the Muslim-dominated area is located on the outskirts. There are no gutters here and roads are all broken.
"Two Muslims were killed in the town during riots. Though now there is not much tension, but we avoid going there unless there is some work. We pay abnormally high electricity bills. There is no water, no sewerage system, no education for children," says Gulam Mohammed Aftab, a shop employee.
"It was only the Congress candidate who came here during riots to help us. We have decided to help him," he says, peeved by the continuous social boycott.
Dasaj, with a population of 10,000 people, near Unjha in the Mehsana district, saw major rioting a month ago - over 50 houses were burnt and one person killed.
The policemen are more visible here than the villagers.
"Our children don''t go to school anymore. We cannot go to their (Hindu) area to vote. All of us want to vote this time. But this can happen only if a special booth is set up in our locality," says Sajid Khan, who has been organising a relief camp here for riot-affected Muslims from other districts.
Some 150 Muslim families from Khedbrahma, Laxmipura and other neighbouring villages have taken shelter in Vadali village, near Idar in Sabarkantha. Nearly 1,500 of them have become local voters and have been provided a separate booth to vote.
"There is no tension here. In fact, we are running the camp with the help of our Hindu brothers, who helped us financially also. The Congress MP has helped us a lot. There is a boycott in their villages, so they are compelled to stay here," says Amanullakhan, who too runs a relief camp.