In 2002, Mayaben Kodnani was allegedly a part of mobs that killed 83 Muslims during the post-Godhra riots in Naroda Patiya. Five years on, she asks people to forget and move on—but not before raking up the past and talking of Partition. “Jo hua so bura hua, lekin ab aage badhne ki zarurat hai (Whatever happened in 2002 was bad but we must move on). We can’t revive the wounds of Partition in 1947.” The BJP has renominated Kodnani, the sitting MLA and a Sindhi, since the constituency has a sizeable number of Sindhis. She says her renomination is proof of the faith Chief Minister Narendra Modi and state BJP President Purshottam Rupala have in her to win the elections. Kodnani is riding on the BJP’s past performances—the constituency elected BJP candidates four times in a row till 2002. Nazir Khan, a retired schoolmaster in Naroda Patiya, says that with Kodnani as the BJP candidate, it will not be possible for Muslims to vote. “We have already approached election officials asking for central paramilitary forces to be deployed at the government school near Noorani Masjid to enable the Muslims to cast their votes,” says Khan. The riots in Naroda Patiya were one of the worst in the state, with a mob slitting open the stomach of a pregnant women, Kausar, and setting her on fire.
