Indian political parties scurrying for Muslim vote

India's Muslim community is a sought-after voting bloc in India's elections scheduled for next year, as political parties believe they vote in unison more than any other group.
The 2014 general election for India's 543 parliamentary seats is forecast to be the largest democratic process ever, with over 725 million people expected to participate.

• Indian Muslim voters check their names at a registration counter before casting votes at a polling station in New Delhi in 2008. As 2014 elections approach, political parties are trying to position themselves as the most sympathetic to Muslims' needs. [Manpreet Romana/AFP]
  

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But the minority Muslim community could hold the key to its outcome, some analysts believe.
It is believed Muslim voter turnout surpasses that of other religious groups, and that Muslims implement "strategic voting" to ensure the community's votes are not split between friendly parties.
Jaythirth Rao, a spokesman for the election monitoring agency C-Voter, told Khabar South Asia that 35 parliamentary districts dispersed over the country have more than 30% Muslim voters.
"What is crucial for all parties to understand is that apart from those 35, there are 183 others which have upwards of 11% Muslim voters," Rao said.

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