AHMEDABAD, Dec 16: Muslim leaders in Gujarat said on Monday they believed a resounding victory for Hindu nationalists could usher in a period of peace rather than fuel further communal violence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept state assembly elections, grabbing 126 seats in the 182-member state legislative assembly, while the Congress managed to win only 51 in results announced on Sunday.

The BJP’s thumping victory was unexpected as most analysts and exit polls had predicted a close fight between the two parties in Gujarat, where some 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in communal violence earlier this year.

“Now there will not be riots for the next three to four years at least,” said Mufti Abdul Kaiyum, president of the Human Welfare Society, an organization which worked in riot-hit areas of Ahmedabad.

“The BJP and its associate organizations, such as the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, were responsible for the riots. They did this so that BJP could win the election,” Kaiyum said.

“Now that the party has won, there will be no riots. If they had lost to Congress, then anything could have happened.”

Muslims, who make up more than 10 percent of Gujarat’s 33 million voters, had unanimously voted for the Congress.

Muslim leaders believe the BJP saw the riots as a way to return to power in the state.

“The party has ruled the state for the past ten years. It had failed miserably on issues such as controlling inflation, social uplift and reducing poverty,” said Imtiaz Sheikh, a member of the Textile Labour Association.

“The only way it could have emerged victorious was by triggering communal passions which it did. In fact maybe after four years, the BJP might again trigger violence if it fails in other developmental agendas.”—AFP