A decade after Godhra provided the spark that ignited almost the whole ofGujarat into a communal cauldron, this relatively underdeveloped constituencyin the prosperous state remains deeply divided along religious lines.
Going to poll in the second phase on December 17, the Muslims, who have a largepresence among the 2.13 lakh electorate, are still not ready to forget andforgive the 2002 communal carnage, notwithstanding Chief Minister NarendraModi's much publicised "Sadbhavna Mission" and numerous otherovertures to woo them.
Amid the seemingly unbridgeable chasm, voters of this constituency, nearly 150km from capital Gandhinagar, will decide the fate of eight candidates,including sitting Congress MLA C K Raulji who has thrice won the seat in 1990,1995 and 2007, contesting as Janata Dal, BJP and Congress nominee respectively.
He is locked in a triangular fight with BJP's Praveensinh Chauhan, son ofsitting MP from Panchmahal, Prabhatsinh Chauhan. Praveensinh is a politicalnovice and is contesting an election for the first time.
Also in the fray is Girwatsinh Solanki of Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP), a BJPbreakaway faction headed by former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel.
Though poll watchers are not giving independent candidate Rameshbhai Patel muchof a chance, the realtor from Surat, a moneybag, is also in the fray, bankingon the politically influential Patel votes.
The Muslims, with nearly 45,000 votes, have been exercising their franchise,almost en bloc, for Congress since 1962 when the first assembly polls were heldafter bifurcation of Bombay Presidency into Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Congress candidates have won the seat in five of the 11 assembly elections heldin the state. However, Muslim candidates have bagged the seat only four timeswith Abdulrahim Ismail Khalpa alone winning in 1975, 1980 and 1985.
Four Muslims had filed their papers as independent candidates this time too butall of them withdrew at the last moment.
"Godhra is a prestige issue for Narendra Modi. So, he fielded Muslimcandidates to divide Congress votes but Congress made sure they backed off,"says Firdausbhai Kothi, president of the Muslim Ganchi Samaj Panch and owner ofKothi Steel Limited.
Kothi had sheltered hundreds of Muslims when Gujarat burned in communal strifefor months in 2002.
"Muslims can make or mar the electoral fate of a candidate in Godhra butthis time they stand divided. There can be a three-way split in the votes withCongress, Independent Rameshbhai and, to some extent BJP, being thebeneficiaries", he said.
Asked why some Muslims would vote for BJP as the chasm remained as wide asever, he says "they (Muslims) have forgotten the families of thoseconvicted and sentenced to death for Sabarmati Express fire tragedy.Jamat-e-Islamia collects donations to sustain their families. Money plays a bigrole in elections these days."