Of course, the decision stems from political compulsions as the minority community has no other choice in Rajasthan where it is a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP.

Other parties like the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party are bit players on the Rajasthan poll stage. As for the left parties, they have a fighting chance only in one constituency.

The Muslim Forum, which is an umbrella organisation of the Muslims, decided to back the Congress in view of the ground reality.

Muslims, who constitute 8 per cent of the state's population, have a sizeable presence in places like Jaipur, Ajmer, Tonk and Nagore.

The Forum has also made it clear that the decision to support Congress does not mean that it is happy with the party's approach to tackling terrorism. Its main complaint is that young Muslim boys have been targeted by the police on mere suspicion. In most cases, they have been found to be innocent.

The Forum is disappointed that despite the Prime Minister's repeated assurances, the state police continues to be biased against the Muslims.

The Forum, however, is hopeful that the Prime Minister will keep the promise he made recently during a meeting with Urdu editors in Delhi that the Government would consider payment of compensation in cases in which Muslims have been found to be innocent.

That the tradition-bound people of Rajasthan are also colourful when it comes to elections has been in display now. “Pagdis” of various shades are in great demand these days. If the colour of the Pagdi is bright red, it belongs to the Jats. White pagdi is the headgear of the Bishnois while the Rajputs adorn a multi-coloured pagdi.#