Voting begins in Gujarat after vitriolic campaign
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
SURENDRANAGAR, India, Dec 11 (Reuters): Hundreds of thousands of people began voting in India's western state of Gujarat Tuesday in an election that was supposed to be about a booming economy but turned into a war of words over Hindu-Muslim divisions.
Hindu-majority Gujarat, one of India's richest and fastest growing states but also one of its most communally divided, votes in a two- stage poll that is being closely watched for clues about the fortunes of the country's two main parties.
Early voters, some of them in their pajamas, queued at voting stations across the 87 constituencies that went to polls Tuesday, out of 182 in the state.
The second phase of voting takes place on December 16 and the results are expected on December 23.
The election started out as a referendum on development, with the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) boasting that it had brought industrial growth and rural prosperity, and Congress trying to attract those who have missed the train.
But the gloves came off when Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who heads the ruling national coalition in New Delhi, called the BJP government of chief minister Narendra Modi 'merchants of death' at a rally last week.
Modi is accused of turning a blind eye to or actively encouraging Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002 in which between 1,200 and 2,500 people were killed, most of them Muslims.
He swept the elections held later that year on an overtly communal campaign where he played on fears about Muslim terrorists and styled himself as the protector of Hindus.
In the past week he has returned to his hardline Hindu nationalist agenda, while still pushing his development record. "The lotus has to bloom in India," said businessmen Umeshbhai Bavala (40) referring to the symbol of Modi's party.
"He has promised us welfare and we trust him."
Ironically, neither side had wanted to summon the ghosts of 2002 -- Congress because it was scared of alienating the majority Hindu community, Modi because he wanted to portray a more positive image and, perhaps, launch a national career.
Hindu-majority Gujarat, one of India's richest and fastest growing states but also one of its most communally divided, votes in a two- stage poll that is being closely watched for clues about the fortunes of the country's two main parties.
Early voters, some of them in their pajamas, queued at voting stations across the 87 constituencies that went to polls Tuesday, out of 182 in the state.
The second phase of voting takes place on December 16 and the results are expected on December 23.
The election started out as a referendum on development, with the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) boasting that it had brought industrial growth and rural prosperity, and Congress trying to attract those who have missed the train.
But the gloves came off when Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who heads the ruling national coalition in New Delhi, called the BJP government of chief minister Narendra Modi 'merchants of death' at a rally last week.
Modi is accused of turning a blind eye to or actively encouraging Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002 in which between 1,200 and 2,500 people were killed, most of them Muslims.
He swept the elections held later that year on an overtly communal campaign where he played on fears about Muslim terrorists and styled himself as the protector of Hindus.
In the past week he has returned to his hardline Hindu nationalist agenda, while still pushing his development record. "The lotus has to bloom in India," said businessmen Umeshbhai Bavala (40) referring to the symbol of Modi's party.
"He has promised us welfare and we trust him."
Ironically, neither side had wanted to summon the ghosts of 2002 -- Congress because it was scared of alienating the majority Hindu community, Modi because he wanted to portray a more positive image and, perhaps, launch a national career.