Ahmedabad, Dec 10: Muslim groups said on Monday the community would vote in large numbers against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat this week, hoping to stop them from returning to power in a state scarred by religious riots. "The vote is our only weapon against this madness," said Sayeed Sahidar Rehman, a former city councillor in Ahmedabad. Riots earlier this year killed at least 1,000 people in the state.

"We are waiting for election day, this is the most decisive election in years for Muslims."

Muslims make up only 10 per cent of Gujarat's 33 million voters, but community leaders are counting on a strong turnout to swing the outcome in a close race between BJP and Congress.
Muslim activists are arranging buses across the dry, dusty state to ferry people to polling stations which will be guarded by an unprecedented 100,000-strong security force. Bureau Report