Gujarat, HP, MP- Election 2007 - 3

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I have this hunch that Muslims voted for BJP in its strongholds. Is this correct? they did not waste it on Sonia party.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Where ever Muslims are more than 15%, Hindu votes consolidates.


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At the end of the day, the sweetest revenge for Modi came from several predominantly Muslim areas where the BJP won. Gujarat’s 45 lakh Muslims form over 9 per cent of the state’s population.

In criticising Modi, his critics have long painted Gujarat’s Muslims as little more than second-class citizens, although the community has a literacy rate of 73 per cent – higher than the national average for all communities, and fares better than the national average for all religions on several counts including sex ratio and work participation.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>In South Gujarat’s 28 seats, the Congress expected to do better than in 2002. The Congress party’s hopes were raised after Sonia Gandhi’s rally in the tribal district of Dangs attracted a huge crowd and Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow in Surat brought out thousands of people. But the BJP not only retained its hold over its 17 seats from last time, but gained two. The Congress won 10, losing two since 2002.</b>

The Congress was heavily banking on BJP’s rebel candidate and top diamond merchant Dhirubhai Gajera to guide them to a victory in urban Surat. Gajera, BJP’s sitting MLA, had won the seat thrice and was expected to retain it. He lost, in spite of allegations that the Surat-based diamond business was funding the anti-Modi campaign.
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