India poll chief tours riot state

The violence left more than a thousand dead

India's independent Election Commission chief has begun a tour of the riot-affected state of Gujarat to determine if elections can be held there.

Modi insists he is justified in seeking a new mandate

The visit follows the resignation earlier this month of the state's Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, who has called for polls seven months ahead of schedule.

Mr Modi was heavily criticised for his handling of religious violence in the state, which erupted in February after an attack on a train carrying Hindu activists in Godhra.

More than 1,000 people - mainly Muslims - were killed in the riots, thousands of survivors lost their homes and about 12,000 people are still in relief camps.

Opposition parties are outraged at the call for early elections, saying a fair poll would be impossible given the numbers of Muslim refugees who are still too frightened to venture out to vote.

Final say

Chief Election Commissioner JM Lyngdoh is due to meet victims, civil-rights groups, civil servants, policemen and politicians to establish whether polls could be held.

Mr Lyngdoh, and his two colleagues on the three-member commission, began by visiting the scene of some of the worst riots in the Gujarat capital, Ahmedabad.

He visited the Gulbarg Society residential complex, where former MP Ehsan Jaffri and 38 others were burnt to death by mobs.

Rights groups say Muslims are too scared to vote

The team then travelled to Naroda Patiya, where at least 82 Muslims were burnt alive by another mob.

The commission will have the final say on whether elections can go ahead or not.

Mr Modi, who still has the backing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), insists that life in Gujarat has returned to normal.

He has also rejected allegations that his Hindu nationalist administration was complicit in the slaughter of Muslims following the Godhra attack.

The BJP itself is preparing for the polls with a meeting of its senior Gujarat leaders scheduled to take place in Delhi on Friday.

Hindu support

Civil-rights activists maintain that elections would be an insult to survivors, who are still waiting for compensation.

They also point out that thousands of people lost all their belongings, including their identity documents, in the violence and would therefore be unable to vote.

But Mr Modi insists he is justified in seeking a fresh mandate.

Analysts say by holding snap elections, Mr Modi and the BJP expect to return to power on a wave of Hindu support.